PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will sign the 2026 national budget into law on the first week of January, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said Wednesday. Recto said Malacañang needs more time to go over the proposed P6.793-trillion budget. “It will be better for everyone that Malacañang review the budget carefully. It may take a week to go over the budget with a fine-tooth comb,” Recto said. “A reenacted budget for a week will not affect government operations. A careful review of the budget will improve its execution,” he added. Marcos was expected to sign the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) on Dec. 29, but the bicameral conference committee’s proceedings were delayed as lawmakers asked for more time to scrutinize the budget. On Tuesday, Malacañang said Marcos would work on the immediate review of the national budget during the holidays. Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez said the president mobilized a team for the “immediate review” of the budget. Gomez said the president would not settle for a reenacted budget. A budget is reenacted when Congress fails to pass a new budget before the end of the fiscal year, resulting in the continuation of the previous year’s allocations. Since 2000, the budget has been reenacted five times. The government under former president Rodrigo Duterte was also forced to run on a reenacted budget for the first four months of 2019 due to delays in the approval of the P3.7-trillion GAA, which was signed only on April 15, 2019. Senate Committee on Finance chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said postponing the budget signing was a “prudent course of action.” He said the Executive Branch has to go over the 4,000-page enrolled bill carefully. Gatchalian acknowledged that transmitting the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to Malacañang on Dec. 29, just two days before the end of the year, would leave the Office of the President with limited time to scrutinize the measure. Senate President Vicente Sotto III confirmed that the president is expected to sign the proposed 2026 national budget by Jan. 5. The Constitution grants the president 30 days to sign or veto the national budget upon receipt. Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said a careful review of the spending plan should take precedence over speed. “This is exactly what I said earlier, better a reenacted budget in January, or even in the first quarter of 2026, than rushing the passage of a national budget that is not responsive to the call of the times,” Lacson said. He cited disagreements in the bicameral conference committee over funding for farm-to-market roads and various assistance programs, or “ayudas,” such as the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (Maifip) and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), warning that these items are vulnerable to abuse if not properly regulated. While acknowledging imperfections in the final measure, Lacson urged continued vigilance from Congress and the public, emphasizing the importance of transparency, monitoring, and accountability in the use of public funds.