Manila, Sept. 3 -- The Senate Committee on Finance on Thursday approved at the committee level the Office of the Ombudsman's proposed PHP7.23-billion budget for 2027, with lawmakers signaling support for additional funding to strengthen its anti-corruption investigations and enforcement capability.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM)-recommended allocation of PHP7.23 billion is about PHP655.44 million, or 9.96 percent, higher than the Ombudsman's PHP6.577-billion budget for 2026.

It represents about 0.1 percent of the proposed PHP7.2-trillion national budget for next year, significantly lower than the PHP12.797 billion originally sought by the anti-graft body.

Senate finance committee chair Sen. JV Ejercito said one priority...