Official Website of Philippine Senator Pia Cayetano

Tag: Budget

  • PHOTO: Senate passes proposed 2026 DOH Budget

    PHOTO: Senate passes proposed 2026 DOH Budget

    The Senate has approved the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Health (DOH), adopting key amendments endorsed by Senator Pia Cayetano in her capacity as sponsor and Senior Vice Chair of the Finance Committee. The Senator stressed that these adjustments are intended to further strengthen the health system, improve access for indigent patients, and ensure that critical programs receive the targeted support they need.

    Under these amendments, additional funding will reinforce and expand the Zero-Balance Billing Program in DOH and regional hospitals, including a pilot rollout in selected local government hospitals as determined by the department. The budget also provides for the direct allocation of medical assistance funds to major government specialty hospitals such as the Philippine Heart Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Lung Center of the Philippines, and Philippine Children’s Medical Center. Further support was granted to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health, ensuring that essential institutions remain equipped to deliver life-saving care to Filipino families.

  • Senator Pia sponsors 2026 DOH budget

    Senator Pia sponsors 2026 DOH budget


    “Good health is the foundation of sustainable development. By investing in our people’s health today, we are upholding our commitment to universal healthcare and ensuring intergenerational fairness for all Filipinos.

    On Monday, Senator Pia S. Cayetano, Senior Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, sponsored the proposed 2026 budgets of the Department of Health and its attached agencies and corporations, including the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

    Among her key funding recommendations were the expansion of the Zero-Balance Billing (ZBB) Progam in DOH and regional hospitals, support for its pilot implementation in select LGU hospitals, and the direct allocation of the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) to government hospitals. She also called for continued support for the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and other specialty hospitals.

    As Chairperson of the Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation, and Futures Thinking, Sen. Cayetano reviewed the health budget through the lens of SDG 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing), ensuring that investments advance universal healthcare, preventive care, healthy lifestyles, and equitable access to services.

    Building on these priorities, she reiterated that sin tax revenues must be fully allocated to health as mandated by law, emphasizing that these funds are essential for strengthening healthcare and expanding access to services for all Filipinos.

  • Sen. Pia supports measure for better budget transparency

    Sen. Pia supports measure for better budget transparency

    Senator Pia S. Cayetano has co-sponsored Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4, which seeks to institutionalize greater transparency and accountability in the passage of the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).

    As the Senior Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance who handled the education budget for six years and the health budget for five years, Cayetano noted that while budget deliberations in the Senate are open to the public, the final stages in the bicameral conference committee are not treated the same way. “Even I, as Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Finance, only learned after the fact that the budget I proposed and approved by the Senate is changed in the bicam,” she said.

    The resolution mandates the timely and transparent release of budget documents to promote genuine public participation. “An open budget process compels us, as legislators and government alike, to act with greater diligence, fairness, and integrity,” Cayetano stressed.