Official Website of Philippine Senator Pia Cayetano

Tag: Finance

  • 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.

  • PHOTO: Senator Pia Cayetano continues her sponsorship of the 2026 DOH Budget

    PHOTO: Senator Pia Cayetano continues her sponsorship of the 2026 DOH Budget

    November 26 — Senator Pia Cayetano, Senior Vice Chair of Finance, resumed her sponsorship of the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Health in continuation of last week’s deliberations.

    Responding to the Senate President’s questions, Cayetano cited her recommendation for additional funding to support indigent patients, covering health packages for complex conditions such as cancer, as well as brain, lung, gastrointestinal, dental and kidney diseases.

    Instead of increasing the agency’s MAIFIP funding, she noted that her proposal channels funds directly to the public hospitals – with each specialty hospital receiving P1 billion – to better serve patients in need.

  • Photo Release: Sen. Pia presides over hearing on DSWD’s proposed 2026 budget

    Photo Release: Sen. Pia presides over hearing on DSWD’s proposed 2026 budget

    “The true test of progress is how you take care of the most vulnerable. Ang hirap pag-usapan yung upper middle class, yung numbers, when we know that there are still millions who live in poverty,” Senator Pia S. Cayetano underscored as she presided over the hearing on the proposed 2026 budgets of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), its attached and supervised agencies, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

    As Senior Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, Cayetano stressed that while government often highlights economic targets such as attaining upper middle-income status, genuine development is measured by how the poorest sectors are cared for.

    She added that the hearing provides an opportunity for legislators to work with the DSWD to ensure resources directly address the needs of Filipinos who depend on social protection programs. “It’s our job to help DSWD perform its mandate well,” she told Secretary Rex Gatchalian and his team.

  • 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.