Lawmakers take sides on zeroing unprogrammed funds

Lawmakers take sides on zeroing unprogrammed funds | Daily Tribune

Following the decision of the House of Representatives to reject the amendment of Akbayan Representative Atty. Chel Diokno to reduce the P243 billion unprogrammed funds to zero, various lawmakers have expressed their opinions on the matter.

Before the decision was made on Friday, Atty. Diokno raised his concern over the unprogrammed appropriations (UA) on 7 October 2025, stating that what was once standby funding for contingencies has ballooned into a “parallel budget system.”

“When we examine the details of the 2026 NEP, we see allocations that are not contingencies at all but big-ticket, pre-planned programs. Ilan dito ang P80.86 billion for ‘Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs’; P97.3 billion for Foreign-Assisted Projects; P50 billion for the Revised AFP Modernization Program; P6.7 billion for health emergency allowances, among others,” Diokno said on Wednesday.

According to Atty. Diokno, the amendment to zero the UA would not be necessary if those in charge had been more transparent in previous budgets and had not placed pork-prone items into the UA.

“We would not reach this point if those in charge of previous budgets had not reallocated programmed items, especially those for education, health, and social protection,” Diokno said.

“If they had not placed pork-prone items into the UA, and if they had required real-time transparency down to the Special Allotment Release Order level, with open-data reporting accessible to the public, zeroing out the Unprogrammed Appropriations would not have been necessary," he added.

Another Akbayan Representative, Perci Cendaña, highlighted that the UA has been a source of corruption over the past three years.

“This has been a source of corruption and controversy for the past three years. We saw how it grew and how it seems the power of the purse has been transferred to the DBM. With unprogrammed appropriations, the DBM has large power in terms of approval and release of the funds,” Cendaña said.

The controversial flood control project is one of the fruits of the UA. House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Mika Suansing, during a plenary deliberation on 23 September 2025, disclosed that the DBM released P141 billion for the project—P34 billion from 2023 and another P107 billion in 2024.

In the Senate, support for zeroing the UA came from Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. According to the senator on Saturday, he will add his voice to the Senate’s stand at the bicameral conference committee.

“Our agreement was that there will be no unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 budget. We will allow funding for foreign-assisted projects that are necessary. Funds in the unprogrammed appropriations for other purposes will be removed,” Lacson said.

Meanwhile, other lawmakers argued that zeroing the UA for the 2026 national budget is not feasible.

House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairperson Jose Alvarez explained that the government needs standby funds for foreign-assisted projects as well as backup funds for disasters and emergencies.

Additionally, he stated that the UA should only be tapped by the Palace in times of need.

“The unprogrammed funds, on the other hand, are only funded when there is extra funding. The important thing is that no senator or congressman can access these funds. They are exclusively for the Palace's use for foreign-funded projects and calamities,” Alvarez said.

House Deputy Speaker and Antipolo City 1st District Representative Ronaldo Puno explained that the UA is not necessarily bad if used correctly, and that zeroing it out would be inefficient.

“If you don’t include unprogrammed funds, you won’t have anywhere to allocate additional collections. You’d put it in savings, and in government budgeting, that’s not efficient. It’s necessary that when the government is earning, a specific amount within their expenditure program guidelines needs to be spent. Otherwise, the economy will slow down, and there will be many other negative effects. Unprogrammed funds are not bad if used correctly,” Puno explained in Filipino.

Atty. Diokno, in a social media post, remained hopeful for change, stating that a third reading will still happen on Monday.

“We are disappointed, and if our government is truly serious about showing the Filipino people that we do not want corruption, then the unprogrammed appropriations should be zeroed out. We are only in the second reading; on Monday, there will be a third reading and another round of voting regarding the enactment of the General Appropriations Bill,” Diokno said.