2026 budget oozes with political lard: Marcos urged not to rush approval

Contrary to the insistence of leaders of both the House of Representatives and the Senate that the 2026 national budget is pork-free, the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) report revealed huge pork insertions in the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

A budget watchdog expressed surprise that, despite the Bicam deliberations being livestreamed for the first time, pet projects embedded in agency allocations ballooned almost uncontrollably.

In the House of Representatives, pork swelled to almost double the National Expenditure Program (NEP). 

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson stressed that a brief reenactment of the 2025 national budget would be preferable to rushing the passage of the proposed 2026 budget, warning that haste could lead to a spending plan vulnerable to corruption.

Lacson made the statement after Executive Secretary Ralph Recto was quoted as saying that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to sign the proposed P6.793-trillion 2026 budget in the first week of January, a timeline that could result in a reenacted budget for a few days at the start of the year.

“When we monitored the Senate, we gave inputs and, to their credit, they reduced it. But when it reached the Bicam, it ballooned again, becoming even bigger than the House version. So we were surprised that this happened in the Bicam,” People’s Budget Coalition spokesperson AJ Montesa said.

Among the pork items padded in the Bicam are the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) a DSWD program that is being used like campaign kitty funds by local government officials. 

AICS in the NEP was P27 billion, which jumped to P59.09 billion in the House version, fell to P34 billion in the Senate version and rebounded to P63.8 billion in the Bicam report.

The Medical Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), a Department of Health program, was P26.9 billion in the NEP, P49.2 billion in the House version, P29 billion in the Senate version, and settled at P51.6 billion in the Bicam report.

Allocations for farm-to-market roads under the Department of Agriculture also increased from P16 billion in the NEP to P33 billion in the Bicam report.

Out-of-place sheds  

“Sometimes they even build waiting sheds where they aren’t really needed. These are both soft and hard projects. Based on our assessment, these soft pork items increased by about P120 billion beyond the NEP,” according to Montesa.

The transparency advocate said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may be sparing in the use of his veto power on the 2026 budget.

“We know it’s unlikely. At the end of the day, what the President really needs to do is be proactive, not just passive and say, ‘This is the consolidated version, I’ll sign it.’” 

He has to maintain his relationship with the House of Representatives, which makes that option doubtful. 

“What he ought to do is a separate matter from what he will actually do. Our call now is for an executive order to flag budget items for later release. That does not mean vetoing them outright, but instead allowing the executive to study how these can be implemented in a way that reduces politicization,” according to Montesa.

Questionable items can be studied and possibly released later. MAIFIP and AICS, for example, could be remitted directly to hospitals for zero-balance billing or to PhilHealth. 

“They don’t need to pass through politicians. As much as possible, that should be finalized,” he said.
And if a politician is found to be using these funds, the penalties should be clear — that they can be jailed or disqualified, so that the so-called safeguards, Montesa said, for these soft pork items truly have teeth. 

Reenactment preferred

It is better “to have a reenacted budget in January, or even in the first quarter of 2026, than rush the passage of a national budget that is not responsive to the call of the times, amid the yet unresolved investigations on the misuse and abuse of the current and previous expenditure programs, particularly involving flood control projects,” Lacson said. 

He noted that investigations into the alleged misuse and abuse of current and previous expenditure programs, particularly flood control projects, remain unresolved.

Despite Malacañang’s opposition to a reenacted budget, Lacson said it was the most prudent option given that the bicameral conference committee failed to reach agreement on several contentious provisions of the 2026 spending measure.

Among the disputed items were proposed increases in funding for farm-to-market roads and various ayuda or assistance programs, including the MAIFIP and the AICS. 

Lacson warned that these programs are susceptible to political abuse if not properly safeguarded.

He also cited the DPWH appeal to restore portions of its budget, despite earlier commitments to reduce allocations linked to allegedly overpriced Construction Materials Price Data.

With the House of Representatives insisting on retaining these provisions, Lacson said the Senate, during caucus discussions, agreed to insert general and special provisions in the budget to serve as safeguards during its implementation. 

These include a total ban on guarantee letters and any form of political promotion, or epal, in the distribution of ayuda; stricter implementation of MAIFIP under the Universal Health Care program; and monthly oversight of infrastructure and farm-to-market road projects, with grid coordinates to enable monitoring by the media and the public.

Lacson acknowledged that the Bicam report “is far from perfect” but stressed that vigilance must continue even after the budget is signed into law.

“We cannot be in a perfect and ideal world when we entrust government funds to politicians of different persuasions and attitudes,” he said.

The veteran lawmaker and longtime budget watchdog added that he remains hopeful that many members of Congress will heed public calls to curb corruption.

“The key is not letting our guard down in monitoring and reporting, even shaming shenanigans in the public sector and their co-conspirators outside of government,” Lacson said.