The Philippine Senate will conduct an independent review of the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for next year and make the necessary corrections to alleged spending changes that favor politically driven assistance programs, a senator said on Tuesday.

The House of Representatives approved the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on Oct. 12, but the Senate Finance Committee has not yet received the measure, Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito said in a statement. The bill serves as the government's spending plan for 2027, and revisions made at this stage can shape funding levels for agencies and programs next year.

Under the Philippine budget process, the Senate's review is the next legislative step before both chambers reconcile their versions and transmit the final measure to the President for signing into law.

Whole-day budget hearings will be held in the Senate starting Oct. 16. Senate President Sherwin T. Gatchalian said the chamber is targeting to sponsor the budget by Nov. 9.

Mr. Ejercito, who chairs the committee, acknowledged the concerns of budget watchdogs and civil society groups over the national budget's focus on financial assistance and local projects.

"These are serious questions that deserve serious scrutiny, to determine if the allocation of funds is correct," he said.

He promised the committee would hold a one-to-two-day briefing with civil society organizations and budget watchdogs before preparing its report. All red flags in the budget will also be raised to the relevant agencies, he added.

Unjust reallocations and low budgets for vital government programs must be corrected in the Senate version of the 2027 General Appropriations Bill, he concluded. The hearings beginning Oct. 16 and the targeted Nov. 9 sponsorship are the next milestones as the chamber weighs those changes before the spending plan moves toward final enactment. — Francessca S. Abalos