The House of Representatives Committee on Justice on April 29, 2026. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — A House of Representatives panel greenlit more than P500 million in additional funding for the Department of National Defense (DND) during a budget amendments review.
The House Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc), led by chairperson Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing, evaluated the proposed additions for the 2027 fiscal plan, focusing heavily on how to handle sensitive defense requests.
The discussion opened when Deputy Speaker Bambi Emano questioned whether the requested funding concerned national security.
Vice Chairperson Rep. Jose “Joboy” Aquino clarified that the agency's requests largely centered on operational basics, noting that "It's more about perimeter fence, water supply."
To protect sensitive information, vice chairperson Rep. Brian Poe Llamanzares proposed a compromise between public accountability and operational security.
"In the interest of national security and for these items that will be mentioned later, I propose that the particulars not be mentioned but the amounts be mentioned," Llamanzares said.
He added that while the committee held the actual requests and confirmed their existence, "I think it would be best if we as the BARSc mentioned the amounts for approval for transparency purposes. However, in the interest again of national security, we don't mention the particulars."
Following the adoption of this approach, Aquino moved for the approval of five specific line items for the DND without disclosing their exact nature.
The committee reviewed and approved the items sequentially:
• Item 1: P108,765,000
• Item 2: P285,000,000
• Item 3: P60,000,000
• Item 4: P85,000,000
• Item 5: P15,000,000
With all motions duly seconded and carried with no objections from the body, Suansing summarized the final tally.
"For the sake of transparency and balancing that with the interest of national security, these are the items that have been approved by the BARC for the Department of National Defense," Suansing stated, confirming the approval of the "five items amounting to P108 million, P285 million, P60 million, P85 million, and P15 million for a total amount of P553,765,000 for the Department of National Defense."