The Philippine government may borrow as much as P1.7 trillion in 2027 to fund several government projects for the coming year.

Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said more than P10 billion is allocated for confidential and intelligence funds in the proposed 2027 budget, lower than the amount set aside this year.

The proposed budget reflected in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2027 stands at P7.2 trillion. However, not all of this amount is expected to be actually disbursed within the year.

According to DBM Acting Secretary Kim Robert de Leon, based on their calculations, actual government disbursement for 2027 is projected at around P6.9 trillion, while the government's total expected revenue is only around P5.2 trillion.

This results in a P1.7 trillion budget deficit, which the government plans to address through borrowing.

De Leon said the country's borrowing mix will remain a combination of domestic and foreign sources, though a larger share is expected to come from domestic borrowing. As of June 2026, the Philippines' total outstanding debt has already reached more than P19 trillion.

Meanwhile, the proposed confidential and intelligence funds under the 2027 budget stand at more than P10.77 billion. Of this, the DBM said P4.368 billion is allocated for confidential funds, while P6.405 billion is for intelligence funds.

This is 8.8 percent lower compared to the P11.818 billion in confidential and intelligence funds approved under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Deliberations on the proposed national budget are expected to begin on August 17 at the House of Representatives, and on August 27 at the Senate. Both chambers of Congress will start their budget deliberations through hearings with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

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