PASAY CITY—The Philippine Senate officially received the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 on August 12. Senate President Win Gatchalian and Acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert De Leon led the turnover ceremony at the Senate. 

Top Senate leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Finance Committee Chair JV Ejercito, attended the event to mark the start of the budget review.

This record budget is six percent higher than the previous year's funds and makes up nearly 22 percent of the country's total economic output. 

Government officials plan to direct most of the money into key public programs. 

The top focus areas include better public schools, stronger healthcare, food security, direct help for poor families, and new infrastructure projects to boost the economy.

Senate leaders promised to check every detail of the proposed spending plan to avoid waste. Public hearings will officially begin on August 27 at the Philippine International Convention Center. 

Lawmakers aim to finish their review on time so the government can fund its major projects without delay.

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