THE Senate has approved a resolution allowing the House of Representatives to extend its plenary sessions beyond the upper chamber’s own adjournment, effectively removing the need to fast-track the approval of the proposed 2026 national budget.
The measure, adopted without objection on Friday, was moved by Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito to give the House “sufficient time to pass the General Appropriations Bill in faithful compliance with the Constitution.”
This move means the House no longer has to approve the budget bill on second and third reading on the same day, a process previously allowed when the President certified the measure as urgent.
Without such certification, the Constitution requires a three-day interval between readings to allow lawmakers time to review proposed changes.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Sherwin Gatchalian, who earlier suggested the extension and the decision to forgo an urgency certification, expressed confidence that the budget will still be completed before the holidays.
“By tradition, the budget is signed after Christmas, so our target is to finish everything before Christmas. So far, so good,” Gatchalian said.
The Senate is set to resume session on November 10.