Critics slam pork in 2026 budget

The Makabayan Coalition is not holding back in criticizing the proposed 2026 national budget under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., calling it “still full of pork” and warning that it could fuel corruption and patronage politics.

“This proves that President Marcos Jr.’s call against corruption is not serious. The sources of corruption remain, despite the blatant abuses that have already been exposed,” the coalition said in Filipino.

Based on their analysis, the coalition estimated that around P695.78 billion in the 2026 national budget is earmarked for the presidential, congressional, and Senate pork barrel.

Even after the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) review, the coalition noted that lawmakers kept P243 billion in Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) in the budget.

“This is despite the public already seeing the abuses of the Marcos administration. The UA funded 3,700 infrastructure projects worth P214.4 billion in 2023 and 2024,” the coalition said.

According to their data, the House passed a version of the UA totaling P243.2 billion, while the Senate proposed P174.6 billion — both lower than the P249.9 billion in the original National Expenditure Program (NEP).

The Bicam version came in at P243.4 billion, slightly higher than both chambers’ proposals.

Breaking down the allocations further, the coalition found that the House’s General Appropriations Bill earmarked P230 million for congressmen, P3.2 billion for senators, and P24.6 billion for other leadership positions.

Despite the removal of flood control projects from the budget in 2026, the coalition said lawmakers could still get kickbacks through other infrastructure allocations, such as farm-to-market roads, school buildings, and super health centers.

According to their estimates, the Bicam proposal allocated roughly P33 billion for farm-to-market roads, P85 billion for basic education facilities, and P22 billion for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program.

Even with a nearly 40-percent reduction from the original DPWH budget in the NEP of P880 billion, the agency still had a substantial P529 billion allocation for 2026. The coalition also highlighted local government unit allocations, noting that financial assistance to LGUs totaled around P37 billion in the bicam proposal — structured similar to congressional and senatorial “allocables.”

“Based on DBM Local Budget Circular No. 161, there’s an allocation of P50 million per governor, P50 million per city mayor, P20 million per municipal mayor, and P5 million per barangay captain,” the coalition noted.

They also raised concerns about the ASEAN Summit budget, slated at P18.01 billion, with about P17 billion going to the Office of the President for hosting and related activities.

“Ninety-seven percent of the total ASEAN hosting budget — or P17.55 billion — is directly under the Office of the President,” the coalition pointed out.

While the group sees the 2026 budget as still tainted with “remaining corruption,” they cautioned that simply reenacting the 2025 budget is not the solution.

“If the current budget is reenacted, a large portion of the 2025 GAA will transform into presidential pork, because funds from completed programs and projects can be declared as ‘savings,’” the coalition explained.

“For example, if the 2025 DPWH budget is reenacted, the full P1.05 trillion capital outlay could be considered savings and can be used by the President for any program or project at his discretion,” they said.