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DAILY BRIEF
MCT Daily Brief
SENATE SETS NOVEMBER 23 BUDGET DEBATES
MCT DAILY BRIEF | NOVEMBER 15, 2026 | MORNING
The Senate is preparing to debate next year’s budget while the Ombudsman promises closer checks on tax and customs officials. Both concern the same public money: how the government collects it and how it decides to spend it. Elsewhere, newly signed agreements cover farming and digital trade. For Meralco households, one change is already easier to measure: a higher electricity rate this month.
1
SENATE SETS NOVEMBER 23 BUDGET DEBATES AS PROJECT CHECKS CONTINUE
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said on Saturday that plenary debates on the proposed ₱7.2-trillion 2027 budget would begin on November 23. Senators are trying to finish budget work before the December break, with impeachment hearings also taking up time on the calendar.
Gatchalian reiterated plans to remove 295 public-works projects worth ₱8.836 billion. These are proposed removals, not proof that every listed project is fraudulent. Concerns include farm-to-market-road coordinates flagged by civil-society groups.
Finance committee chair JV Ejercito said the review includes project plans, geotags, certificates showing projects can be carried out, and regional development council approval. The point is not merely whether a road has a budget entry. The location, need and readiness must match the money being requested.
Agencies need a budget on time. Senators still have to check the project list. If an item is removed, the public should be able to see which one, why it failed the checks, and where its allocation goes.
WHAT TO WATCH
The committee report and November 23 sponsorship: do the promised removals appear in the bill, and are the reasons traceable to specific projects?
2
NEW BIR CHIEF PLEDGES CORRUPTION CRACKDOWN AS OMBUDSMAN WIDENS CHECKS
New BIR commissioner Rolando Ligon Jr. has pledged to tackle corruption and speed up the agency’s move to digital services. His agenda comes as the Ombudsman promises closer checks on tax and customs officials.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on November 13 that his office would intensify lifestyle checks on Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs officials. Speaking at a Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry dialogue, he cited reports of officials collecting more tax than was legally due, without receipts.
Investigators still need to connect unexplained assets or payments to specific conduct. A lifestyle check is part of that work, not a finding of guilt.
These promises should be judged together. Moving a transaction online helps only if taxpayers can verify what they owe, receive proof of payment and challenge demands that do not belong on the bill.
WHAT TO WATCH
Whether the Ombudsman reports concrete progress from these checks, while protecting due process, and whether the BIR makes payment verification simpler for taxpayers. A promise of tougher enforcement is not yet a result.
3
PHILIPPINES AND BRAZIL SIGN FARMING AND COMPETITION AGREEMENTS
The Philippines and Brazil signed two cooperation agreements on Saturday, covering agriculture and the enforcement of competition laws. They were presented during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Pasay City.
The agriculture agreement covers areas including climate-resilient farming, research, agribusiness training and agricultural supply chains. Brazil’s agriculture ministry also lists animal health and biosecurity among the areas for cooperation. These are practical concerns for farmers who can lose animals, income and months of work when disease reaches their farms.
The other agreement links the Philippine Competition Commission with Brazil’s competition authority. It provides for cooperation in enforcing their competition laws.
Brazil’s agriculture ministry says the cooperation includes a joint working group, researcher exchanges, training and joint projects. The next step is to name the activities and participating institutions, with schedules and resources that farmers can follow.
WHAT TO WATCH
Named projects, participating farms or institutions, schedules and funding. Technical exchanges become useful when farmers can see how to take part and what assistance is actually offered.
4
ASEAN SIGNS DIGITAL TRADE AGREEMENT, WITH IMPLEMENTATION STILL AHEAD
ASEAN economic ministers signed the digital economy agreement known as DEFA in Manila on Saturday. The ASEAN Secretariat says it is expected to take effect in early 2027.
The agreement seeks to make digital trade work more smoothly across borders. Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong described priority projects that could include payments that work between countries, digital business identities and electronic trade documents. Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Roque joined the signing.
For a small seller, the appeal is straightforward: fewer obstacles when receiving a payment or completing paperwork for a buyer abroad. But signing a regional agreement does not mean every bank, platform or government office has already changed its system.
Businesses need to know which services will become available, what they will cost and which rules still apply. They need clear instructions for using the new services.
WHAT TO WATCH
The timetable for the agreement to take effect, followed by country-level rules and working payment or document services. Judge progress by what a business can use, not just what ministers signed.
5
MERALCO HOUSEHOLDS FACE A HIGHER NOVEMBER RATE
Meralco raised its November residential electricity rate by ₱0.4895 per kilowatt-hour. That adds about ₱98 to the bill of a household using 200 kWh, if consumption stays the same. The increase concerns Meralco customers, not every electricity consumer in the country.
The distributor attributed the increase mainly to generation costs. Its breakdown shows higher wholesale electricity market charges, while charges from power-supply agreements moved down. Transmission, taxes and other bill components also affect the total; the rate is not a single charge retained entirely by the distributor.
For a household trying to understand a larger bill, two figures need separate attention: electricity used and the rate charged for it. A family can consume the same amount as last month and still pay more. It can also reduce use without seeing the full saving it expected if the rate has risen.
WHAT TO WATCH
The consumption and rate lines on November bills. Compare like with like before deciding whether the change came from household use, the price of electricity, or both.
BOTTOM LINE
The budget and tax announcements need documents and follow-through. The farming and digital-trade agreements need programs people can use. The electricity increase needs no launch ceremony: households will see it on their bills. The government should be just as clear about where public money goes and what its promises deliver.
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