JV seeks ‘zero sum’ budget

Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Tuesday said the Senate is aiming for a “zero sum” approach to the 2026 national budget. In practical terms, this means lawmakers will only shuffle funds between government sectors based on priority, rather than adding new allocations.

Ejercito explained that they will work within the proposed 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which totals P6.793 trillion.

During the budget season, government agencies present their programs and justify their proposed allocations. Senators can then realign funds from one department to another, depending on where they believe the money is needed most.

The “zero sum” approach comes in the wake of the criticism of the 2025 budget, which faced scrutiny over controversial insertions. The goal is to keep the 2026 budget aligned with the NEP while minimizing such issues.

Ejercito clarified that only the DPWH flood control budget will be realigned. Other projects will continue as requested by their constituents.

The senator stressed that for projects to succeed, lawmakers should avoid intervening after the budget’s enactment — steering clear of bidding, contractor selection, and the terms of contracts.

Senate deliberations on the budget will continue next week, with senators juggling the zero-sum allocations until the bicameral conference committee finalizes it for the President’s signature.

Less than a week before the House approved the proposed P6.793-trillion 2026 budget, calls to defund the contentious unprogrammed appropriations (UA) have intensified over concerns it could once again become a conduit for corruption.

Minority lawmakers Chel Diokno and Leila de Lima underscored the need to slash the UA from P250 billion to zero under next year’s proposed budget in a bid to halt the recurrence of alleged massive corruption in infrastructure projects, including flood control, which were charged to the UA in previous years.

In 2023 and 2024, a total of P141 billion in unprogrammed appropriations was used to fund flood control projects, Diokno said, citing House appropriations committee chair Mikaela Suansing.

“The Filipino people are well aware of the misuse of funds in these flood control projects. These projects were never scrutinized as programmed line items. They simply appeared in the shadows of the budget process,” Diokno said in his privilege speech.

De Lima, meanwhile, asserted that the UA “has been a source of abuse,” citing the anomalies in the flood control projects as evidence.

“So if we could, we should remove it. Otherwise, we must be very restrictive about it and limit it to certain items. But the best case here really is to make it zero,” De Lima told reporters.

Under the 2026 budget, the Marcos administration earmarked 70 percent of the P249.9 billion in unprogrammed appropriations for infrastructure, allocating P97.3 billion to foreign-assisted projects and P80.9 billion to the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs.

Unprogrammed appropriations are “standby funds” to be used when government revenue exceeds expectations or when grants and foreign aid become available. They are traditionally tapped for emergencies, infrastructure projects, social aid programs and similar needs.