Legislative Body
Appears in 2 stories
The lower house of Congress where budget bills originate and where the insertion scandal exploded. - Under scrutiny for P540B in budget insertions and leadership turnover
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed a $115 billion budget on January 5, 2026, while vetoing $1.6 billion in unprogrammed appropriations—slashing discretionary funds to their lowest level since 2019. The move follows months of scandal after former lawmaker Zaldy Co admitted to inserting $1.69 billion in phantom flood control projects into the 2025 budget, implicating Marcos's own cousin, then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez, in an alleged kickback scheme. Co remains at large abroad while seven of sixteen co-accused in the first criminal case are now in custody. In early January 2026, eight DPWH officials pleaded not guilty at their Sandiganbayan arraignment for graft charges over a $4.9 million ghost project.
Updated Jan 5
The House is the lower chamber of Congress and must originate appropriations bills. Under Republican control, it has pushed for strict adherence to Trump’s budget topline, sharp reductions in foreign aid, and rollbacks of Pentagon DEI and gender‑related policies. - Originated the FY2026 NDAA and defense appropriations aligned closely with Trump’s topline and culture-war priorities
In December 2025, Congress completed work on the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), authorizing a record $901 billion in national security spending. The House passed the final compromise 312–112 on December 10, and President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on December 18 in a low-profile move without an Oval Office ceremony. The enacted package cements a 4% pay raise for service members, provides $800 million for Ukraine over two years through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), advances Trump priorities such as eliminating Pentagon DEI programs and supporting the “Golden Dome” missile-defense effort, and retains policy riders that helped drive intra-party and bipartisan friction.
Updated Dec 20, 2025
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