Balisacan batting for more 2026 funding for DEPDev beyond initial offers from legislators

NATIONAL ECONOMIC and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan will seek more funding for the socioeconomic planning body for 2026 after it is made into a department.

“For now, the 2026 is still going to be framed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). It’s not much for now, for 2026,” he told reporters during a briefing on April 14.

“Senator (Juan Miguel F.) Zubiri just indicated an additional P150 million during the hearings, but I hope it can be a little bit more than that,” Mr. Balisacan added.

NEDA will be reorganized into the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed Republic Act No. 1214 on April 10.

NEDA got P12.35 billion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act, up 3.35%.

As DEPDev, it will exercise oversight over the government’s planning, investment planning, budgeting and monitoring and evaluation functions. 

“But we are not asking much. I think we can build from what we have, and now that we are given a more focused mandate, I think that we can be more efficient in our use of resources,” he said. 

Mr. Balisacan also said the department will go on supporting local government units, especially at the regional and provincial levels, in the form of resource mobilization in planning, monitoring and evaluation.

It will also extend technical assistance to provinces in drafting their development plans and improving the capacity of their planners.

“This ensures that local needs can be given greater consideration and priority in national planning, making development more inclusive and responsive,” NEDA said.

The law takes effect on April 27, 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation last April 12. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante