The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it will meet with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to address the funding gap for the government's key automotive incentive programs, which could derail profits for carmakers operating in the Philippines.
Speaking at a palace briefing, Budget Secretary Rolando U. Toledo will address the funding shortfall for the Comprehensive Automotive Revitalization Strategy (CARS) and snatched allocations for revitalizing the automotive industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) under the 2026 national budget.
“We will have our meeting with the DTI tomorrow in which we will see how we can settle this account as far as our party, which is Toyota and Mitsubishi,” he said on Tuesday.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. recently vetoed non-programmed appropriations of P92.5 billion, including P4.32 billion of financial support for the CARS program and P250 million for the RACE program.
The CARS program provides incentives to vehicle manufacturers to produce 200,000 mass-market units over six years in the form of Tax Payment Certificates (TPC), which can be applied to offset participants' tax and duty liabilities.
“Dapat Maa-Issue po eong tpc na tintawag bago sila magbayad. But at this time only earning has been done; No-earn pa lang nila pero hindi pa naisu iyong TPC,” he said.
(TPC must be issued before payment can be made. But at this time, it has only been earned – they have earned it, but the TPC has not been issued yet.)
Mr. Toledo said the DBM will issue appropriate proposals or responses to concerns related to the CARS program.
Also, the DBM chief said the agency plans to further reduce the unprogrammed funds in 2027, after earmarking P150 billion this year. The absolute amount was the lowest since the 2019 budget.
When asked whether the agency was similar to that of his predecessor, Amena F. “Probably yes, we will see that unprogrammed appropriation, which probably should be lower than it is now,” Mr. Toledo said.
In the 2025 General Appropriations Act, the P363.42-billion unprogrammed funds were equivalent to 5.7% of the budget.
Mr. Toledo also defended the use of unprogrammed appropriations, saying they provide funding for foreign-aided projects that lack a completed loan or contract before the closing date.
He warned that otherwise the implementation of foreign aided projects could be delayed.
He also said that although Mr. Marcos has no direct orders on the share of unprogrammed funds in the budget, economic managers and public financial management adhere to a limit of at least 5%.
At the same briefing, Mr. Toledo said the government has allocated about P40 billion for the National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Fund in 2026.
“Of the P39.82 billion National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) for 2026, P15.33 billion will be directly allocated for rehabilitation and construction projects of local government units,” he said.