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FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
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ABOUT THE EDSA BUSWAY’S 2027 BUDGET GAP
The Department of Transportation is again asking Congress to fund the EDSA Busway. Its original ₱1.756 billion request received zero in the administration’s proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program. A House budget panel later inserted ₱75 million. Those two statements describe different stages of the same budget process. Neither tells us yet what Congress will finally approve.
Here are five things to know before anyone says the Busway has been shut down or fully rescued.
1
ZERO WAS THE STARTING PROPOSAL, NOT THE FINAL WORD
The National Expenditure Program is the executive branch’s proposal to Congress. It omitted a new 2027 line item for the EDSA Busway. The House Committee on Appropriations later inserted ₱75 million, according to Akbayan Representative Perci Cendaña and reporting on the committee’s amendments. That is progress from zero, but the amount remains far below what DOTr sought. [Daily Tribune](https://tribune.net.ph/2026/10/07/zero-no-more-cenda%C3%B1a-lauds-p75-m-inserted-fund-for-edsa-busway-project).
The 2027 budget still has to pass the Senate, any bicameral reconciliation and final enactment. A line added by one chamber can change before it becomes law.
WHAT TO WATCH
The EDSA Busway line in the Senate version and the final General Appropriations Act, not just the original zero in the NEP.
2
DOTR SAYS THE GAP AFFECTS STATION SERVICES
Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez says the requested ₱1.756 billion would help keep the Busway operating and support its ongoing upgrades. He warned that inadequate funding could leave security staff unpaid and station elevators and other facilities without proper maintenance. DOTr also named rehabilitation work at Bagong Barrio, Balintawak and Guadalupe, with new stations planned for Cubao, Magallanes and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange. The agency says the Busway carried more than 367 million passenger trips from 2020 through August 2026. [PNA](https://www.pna.gov.ph/article/dotr-seeks-restoration-of-zeroed-edsa-busway-budget).
Those are DOTr’s warnings about what may happen in 2027. They do not mean today’s buses have stopped running. We still need a public breakdown showing which costs are essential for current service and which belong to expansion.
WHAT TO WATCH
A costed operating plan: security, cleaning, elevators, station repairs and new construction shown separately, with timelines and funding sources.
3
DBM SAYS OLDER FUNDS HAVE NOT ALL BEEN USED
The Department of Budget and Management has offered a different explanation for leaving out a new allocation. It said only 37.04 percent of the Busway’s continuing appropriations had been used as of June 30, 2026. DBM also said DOTr ranked the Busway 23rd among its submitted 2027 priorities while fiscal space was tight. DBM left open a later funding request if existing money runs low and a legal source can be identified. [Daily Tribune’s interview with DBM](https://tribune.net.ph/2026/09/24/exclusive-edsa-busway-budget-not-yet-fully-utilizeddbm).
That June figure is already several months old. It does not prove the same balance is available now, or that the unused amount can pay for every operating expense Lopez identified. Nor does DOTr’s ₱1.756 billion request by itself show that all older funds are committed. The useful comparison is a current, itemized account from both agencies.
WHAT TO WATCH
How much earlier funding remains unobligated today, what projects it is tied to and which 2027 costs it can legally cover.
4
₱75 MILLION DOES NOT SETTLE THE SERVICE PLAN
The House insertion represents about four percent of DOTr’s ₱1.756 billion request. Cendaña welcomed it but said the amount was still far short of the agency’s proposal. The number alone cannot tell commuters whether essential station services will be funded. Congress could change it again, and DOTr may be able to use older appropriations for some work. [Daily Tribune](https://tribune.net.ph/2026/10/07/zero-no-more-cenda%C3%B1a-lauds-p75-m-inserted-fund-for-edsa-busway-project); [PNA](https://www.pna.gov.ph/article/dotr-seeks-restoration-of-zeroed-edsa-busway-budget).
The fair question is not whether there is any line at all. It is whether the final financing plan covers the services riders rely on and the construction DOTr has promised.
WHAT TO WATCH
Whether senators increase the amount, keep the ₱75 million or assign a different lawful funding source, and what DOTr says each outcome would mean for riders.
5
RIDERS NEED AN ANSWER THEY CAN TEST
The public should be able to see more than competing warnings about a possible shutdown. DOTr can publish a station-by-station maintenance schedule, the remaining balance of earlier funds, contracts already signed and the minimum amount needed to keep current stations safe and usable in 2027. DBM can explain which continuing funds are still available and why they were not enough to justify a new line in the NEP. Congress can then show what it funded and what it left out.
That would let commuters check a real service commitment: working elevators, staffed stations, accessible platforms and repairs completed on time.
WHAT TO WATCH
The final enacted amount, DOTr’s service plan for 2027 and regular public reports on station conditions and spending.
BOTTOM LINE
The Busway did not receive a new allocation in the original NEP. A House panel has inserted ₱75 million, while DOTr continues to seek ₱1.756 billion and DBM points to older funds that were partly unused as of June. None of those facts alone settles next year’s service. The missing piece is an up-to-date, itemized plan showing what money is available and what it will pay for.
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