Tan questions cuts as DOJ seeks P46.4-billion budget

By Engr. Jay B. Laurino Quezon 4th District Rep. Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” Tan speaks during the House Committee on Appropriations hearin...

By Engr. Jay B. Laurino

Quezon 4th District Rep. Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” Tan speaks during the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the Department of Justice’s proposed ₱46.435-billion 2027 budget on August 24. (ATORNI MIKE)

LUCENA CITY, Quezon — As Congress begins examining a ₱7.2-trillion national spending plan, Quezon 4th District Rep. Keith Micah “Atty. Mike” Tan has raised questions over whether the Department of Justice can absorb funding cuts while handling a growing workload. The DOJ is seeking ₱46.435 billion for 2027 to fund prosecution, criminal investigation, immigration, corrections and other justice services.

The National Prosecution Service disposed of 395,780 of 428,779 cases received in 2025, posting a 99.12-percent disposition rate, according to figures Tan presented during the House appropriations hearing. Its prosecution success rate reached 90.84 percent, figures he cited as lawmakers weighed the department’s performance against its proposed funding.

The spending plan includes reductions for the Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation and Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution. Lower allocations were also proposed for programs addressing human trafficking, cybercrime, online child sexual exploitation, corrections and other enforcement functions.

Tan, a vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, sponsored the DOJ budget during the August 24 hearing and focused on whether the department could maintain its results with fewer resources in several areas. He said the demands on the justice system were expanding even as some programs faced lower appropriations.

“These gains, however, must be sustained amid significant resource pressures,” Tan said. “The proposed reductions come as the department and its attached agencies face an expanding mandate.”

Funding for victims compensation would fall to ₱8 million from ₱19 million under the proposal, among the reductions raised during the hearing. Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida and other DOJ officials appeared before the committee as lawmakers reviewed spending for prosecution, investigation, immigration, corrections and access to justice.

The DOJ allocation represents about 0.68 percent of the proposed national budget, placing its funding needs alongside competing demands across government agencies. Tan was also listed among the principal authors of House Bill No. 10858, the proposed General Appropriations Act for 2027, filed on August 26.

House Committee on Appropriations Chair Mika Suansing said lawmakers would closely review whether the proposed spending translates into services felt by Filipino households. She said the chamber carries a responsibility to account for how taxpayers’ money is allocated.

“Ang bawat piso ng budget na ito ay galing sa dugo at pawis ng mga Pilipino, kaya magiging masusi po ang deliberasyon ng inyong Kongreso sa mga darating na buwan,” Suansing said. “Sisiguraduhin po ng inyong Kongreso na ang PhP 7.2 trillion na budget ng ating bansa ay hindi lang mananatili sa papel, kundi mararamdaman sa araw-araw na buhay ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino.”

Tan also figured in a separate Quezon measure after the House approved on third reading a bill declaring June 13 a special non-working holiday in Calauag to mark the municipality’s founding anniversary. The measure added a local legislative development to a week in which the fourth-district representative also took part in deliberations over the national government’s 2027 spending plan.