Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked Congress to approve a 7.2 trillion-peso ($118.1 billion) budget for 2027, a 6% increase from this year, as the government seeks to regain momentum after the economy slowed sharply and an infrastructure scandal disrupted spending. The plan is equivalent to 21.7% of gross domestic product and comes after second-quarter economic growth weakened to 2.3%, the slowest pace since 2021, bringing first-half growth to 2.6%, below the government's 3.5% to 4.5% target for the year. Education remains the biggest budget item at 1.15 trillion pesos, while healthcare and agriculture allocations are also set to decline from current levels. By contrast, the Department of Public Works and Highways would receive 644 billion pesos, up 22% from the 530 billion pesos allocated for 2026, after this year's budget had been cut by about 40% from a proposed 881 billion pesos amid allegations of irregularities in public works projects. Defence spending is proposed to rise 7.6% to 328.8 billion pesos. The Department of Budget and Management said 316 billion pesos, or nearly four-fifths of the increase in next year's budget, would cover mandatory obligations including salary adjustments for military and uniformed personnel. Budget Secretary Kim Robert De Leon said total disbursements are projected at 6.9 trillion pesos in 2027 against revenues of 5.2 trillion pesos, leaving a fiscal deficit of 1.7 trillion pesos to be financed through borrowing. The government is targeting GDP growth of 5.0% to 6.0% from 2027 to 2030.