Palace to push for UPLIFT bill

MALACAÑANG said a proposed measure emerging from an inter-agency committee would be fast-tracked, as officials move to expand fiscal flexibility and cushion the economy from supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict.

Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) Committee, in its 5^th meeting on Tuesday morning, agreed to endorse a proposed “UPLIFT Bill” to Congress, which would remove restrictions on the inclusion of previously declared savings in the national budget and authorize the use of certain idle state funds.

“The proposal aims, first, to lift the two-year prohibition on incorporating items declared as savings into the proposed budget,” she told a briefing in Filipino.

“Second, it will identify a list of programs, activities and projects that may be funded from allocated budgets, and third, it seeks to empower the government to utilize unreleased appropriations and unobligated allotments from the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), as well as unreleased appropriations from the 2026 GAA.”

While she did not clarify if the proposal will be treated as an urgent or priority measure, she said its passage would be expedited.

The country is under a year-long energy emergency as the Iran war threatens its supply. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana