House: No flood control funding in chamber-approved 2026 budget

House Appropriations Committee Chair Mikaela Suansing on Wednesday assured the public that the chamber-approved 2026 budget bill contains no line items for flood control projects, countering claims raised by her predecessor, former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co.

Co earlier alleged that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inserted P97 billion worth of flood control projects into the National Expenditure Program (NEP)—the executive’s proposed spending plan submitted to Congress.

“There’s no more flood control, definitely,” Suansing told reporters. “When you say NEP, technically, there are no insertions there from a technical standpoint.”

The NEP serves as the basis of the annual General Appropriations Bill (GAB) deliberated by Congress. Both the House and the Senate can realign, reduce, or remove funding items, but such changes must be approved by both chambers through the bicameral conference committee.

The House approved its version of the P6.793-trillion 2026 General Appropriations Bill in October.

Under the House version, P255 billion worth of locally funded flood control projects were realigned from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget to priority sectors such as education, health, agriculture, and social protection, following corruption allegations tied to flood control projects.

The realignment reduced the DPWH’s proposed 2026 allocation from P881.3 billion to P625.7 billion, though a Senate panel has signaled an intention to further cut it to P568.56 billion.

Minority lawmakers, however, argued that defunding flood control projects may be ineffective, noting that a significant portion of the P243 billion in unprogrammed appropriations could still be channeled to foreign-assisted projects and the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs, which largely fund infrastructure-related initiatives.

Co claimed that the P97 billion was allegedly inserted by Marcos into the DPWH budget but was blocked by the House, resulting in the substantial cut to the agency’s funding. He further alleged that the amount was on top of the P100 billion he previously claimed was inserted into the 2025 budget.

Suansing, however, reiterated that insertions cannot exist in the NEP because it is the version originally submitted by Malacañang. Insertions, she explained, typically occur during congressional deliberations and are referred to as “congressional insertions.”

She nonetheless assured that the House-approved version of the 2026 budget contains no allocation for flood control projects.

“I also assure the public that this continues all the way through the bicam. We will ensure that,” Suansing said.

She added that Congress remains committed to making the traditionally closed-door bicameral budget deliberations open to the public.

The 2025 General Appropriations Act, which critics labeled as the “most corrupt” budget in Philippine history, was originally set at P6.352 trillion but was later reduced to P6.326 trillion after President Marcos vetoed P194 billion in line items deemed inconsistent with his administration’s priorities—including P16.7 billion allocated for flood control projects.

The veto was reportedly prompted by alleged “budget insertions,” which critics blamed on the bicameral conference committee composed of select members of both the House and the Senate.