The Akbayan Party-list on Wednesday announced that it has successfully secured a ₱75-million budget to fund EDSA Bus Carousel operations for 2027, an additional ₱500 million for service contracting, and ₱1 billion more for fuel subsidy.

Akbayan said this massive win comes as a result of their insistent demands at the House of Representatives Budget Deliberations.

However, this allotment remains a far cry from the budget requested by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), it said.

“Malaking panalo ito, pero malayong-malayo pa rin ang mga ito sa budget na ni-request ng DOTr,” Akbayan said in a statement.

Hence, Akbayan said it will persist in its appeals for a budget increase for public transportation and remain vigilant so as to ensure that the increase is upheld through the Senate, bicameral conference committee, and lastly, in the final version of the 2027 national budget.

“Zero no more, but we have to keep fighting for more. Tuloy ang laban,” Akbayan said.

In September, Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez warned lawmakers that completely junking funding for the EDSA Busway would affect millions of commuters.

Lopez had proposed a budget of ₱1.756 billion for the busway, which served over 60 million commuters in 2025 alone, according to reports.