The House of Representatives is set to approve the P6.793-trillion proposed 2026 national budget today despite strong objections from minority lawmakers over the retention of P250 billion in Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA).

Opposition members have criticized the UA as a form of “new pork barrel,” arguing that pre-determined projects should instead be placed under Programmed Appropriations (PA), where they can be itemized and subjected to proper scrutiny.

House Deputy Minority Leader Perci Cendaña of Akbayan asserted in a Sunday interview that if the government needs to undertake a project, it should be put in the programmed portion so that Congress could properly scrutinize it, “not in a lump sum as if we’re groping in the dark.”

Cendaña claimed the UA has become the “most bloated part of the budget” in the last three years and is “often used as a conduit of corrupt officials to embezzle our coffers.”

Unprogrammed Appropriations are essentially standby funds that can only be tapped if the government collects more revenue than expected or secures foreign grants and loans. Minority lawmakers contend that using the UA for pre-planned, non-contingency projects effectively gives the executive branch a “blank check.”

For the 2026 proposed budget, the UA is allocated P249.9 billion, with major portions earmarked for Foreign-Assisted Projects (P97.3 billion), Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs (P80.9 billion), the Revised AFP Modernization Program (P50 billion) and health emergency allowances (P6.7 billion).

Akbayan Representative Chel Diokno previously argued that since these are not contingencies, placing them in the UA gives Congress insufficient oversight.

On Friday, his motion to defund the UA was lost due to the overwhelming support for the administration’s budget by the House supermajority. House committee on appropriations Chair Mikaela Suansing defended the UA, saying the Department of Budget and Management already agreed to slash P35 billion worth of infrastructure projects from the unprogrammed fund but insisted that scrapping it entirely is “off the table.”

Cendaña countered that a review of foreign-assisted projects from fiscal years 2023 to 2025 shows the “lion’s share” went to infrastructure. He also alleged the SAGIP program has been linked to the release of budgets for flood control projects, which are currently at the center of a rigorous corruption probe.

“When we looked at the trend of the unprogrammed appropriations in the past three years, we noticed that more than 70 percent was for infrastructure, where there is leakage, opportunities for corruption,” he said.