MANILA, Philippines — More than 26 billion pesos ($460 million) in proposed spending sought by the Department of Migrant Workers was excluded from the Philippine government’s proposed 2027 national budget, officials said Monday.
The department and its attached agency, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, had requested a combined 37.674 billion pesos ($667 million) to fund operations and emergency programs next year. However, the executive branch allocated only 11.616 billion pesos ($206 million) in the National Expenditure Program submitted to Congress, resulting in a 26.058-billion-peso shortfall.
Under the spending plan, the Office of the Secretary received 7.267 billion pesos of its requested 24.792 billion pesos. The welfare administration was earmarked 4.349 billion pesos, down sharply from its proposed 12.882 billion pesos.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac told a Senate budget panel that the agency respects the spending ceilings set by the Department of Budget and Management and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., though it still plans to present its unmet needs to lawmakers during deliberations.
“We are not complaining because the directive and agreement in the Cabinet is clear: We will abide by the determination of the DBM and the President,” Cacdac said, adding that Marcos remains aware of the agency’s funding gaps and what could potentially be augmented by Congress.
Although the allocation fell far short of agency requests, the total proposed figure is only about 1 percent, or 129 million pesos, lower than the combined 11.745 billion pesos allotted for the two agencies this year.
Despite the relatively flat top-line budget, the proposal contains spending cuts for key initiatives, including the specialized hospital for overseas Filipino workers, overseas labor posts known as Migrant Workers Offices, and maritime training programs. Other sectors, such as regulatory oversight, worker welfare, and reintegration, saw modest increases.
Sen. Joel Villanueva, who led the hearing and co-authored the law establishing the migrant agency, said the department’s effectiveness cannot simply be judged by spending rates.
“It is not enough to say that the funds were spent,” Villanueva said. “The real measure is whether an overseas Filipino worker was protected, brought home, given justice, and helped to start again.”
Villanueva emphasized the need for robust emergency resources, pointing to more than 1 million Filipino citizens employed across the Middle East, where regional conflicts have repeatedly forced the government to mobilize repatriation and relief operations.
According to data presented at the hearing, the department’s emergency Action Fund assisted over 606,000 workers between July 2023 and July 2026. From January to July of this year alone, the agency disbursed 2.95 billion pesos to 145,448 recipients, prompting the government to expand the 2026 fund to 5 billion pesos amid Middle East turmoil.
Villanueva said lawmakers will review the unfunded requirements during budget debates to determine which programs warrant restoration or additional funding.
