Senate Committee Questions DILG's P22 Billion Budget Increase Proposal

THE Senate Committee on Finance on Thursday questioned the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) proposed P332.5-billion budget for 2027, P22 billion higher than the agency’s budget this year. Secretary of Interior and Local Government Juanito Victor C. Remulla explained the additional budget will boost their emergency response to calls received by the local emergency hotline. “We continue to have a faster response time through the unified 911. The unified 911 in one year of operation received two million calls, around 60,000 calls a day and our response time is between three to seven minutes,” Mr. Remulla said, adding that the Philippine National Police (PNP) also saw significant drop in crimes for 2026. Under the proposed DILG budget, the PNP will receive the highest share of funding worth P242.5 billion, followed by the Bureau of Fire Protection at P39.1 billion, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology at P34.4 billion. Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, also pressed the agency on their initiatives to address the school shootings and other minor-inflicted violent incidents. “Regarding the last issue are now initiating talks with the developers of Roblox and other games that children in conflict with the law have been influenced by,” Mr. Remulla said, adding that they are requesting for the removal of children’s access to the platforms. The DILG also sought a P10.36-billion budget for the Office of the Secretary for the implementation of programs seeking to further capacitate local government units including advancement of digitalization, promoting good governance, and citizen participation. The agency also proposed an additional P200 million in confidential funds after it utilized about 70% of their P300-million confidential funds in 2026, said Mr. Remulla. “We requested for an additional P200 million largely because of the amounts of work that the Ombudsman has passed down to us to arrest so many people,” Mr. Remulla said. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel