Two civil society coalitions have urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to veto, conditionally implement, or subject to strict citizen monitoring more than P633 billion worth of line items in the proposed 2026 national budget, citing risks of corruption, political patronage, and weak accountability.

In a joint letter to the President, the Roundtable for Inclusive Development (RFID) and the People’s Budget Coalition said corruption remains deeply entrenched in the budget process and warned that questionable allocations continue to threaten the public trust.

“If our nation is a body, then corruption is a cancer that has spread to every part,” the groups said, adding that while some problematic items were removed, “many have metastasized and endanger the life of our nation.”

The groups, composed of representatives from the church, business sector, academe, and civil society, acknowledged the reforms made during the budget deliberations, particularly the increase in education and agriculture funding to more than P1 trillion.

Malnutrition, learning woes addressed

“These increases put our country in a better position to address our malnutrition and learning crises,” they said.

They also welcomed the funding for Project NOAH to boost science-based disaster resilience and the reduction in the public works budget, amid efforts by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to restore public confidence in it.

The coalitions cited the Senate finance panel, led by Senator Win Gatchalian, for cutting about P110 billion in projects flagged as potentially repetitive or overpriced.

Despite these measures, the groups flagged more than P633 billion in the bicameral conference committee version of the budget as vulnerable to abuse, categorizing them as “shadow pork,” “soft pork,” and “hard pork.”

“While these differ in form, all three enable patronage and undermine accountability,” they said.

The groups urged the President to veto P243 billion in unprogrammed appropriations, warning that these funds could be released with minimal transparency.

“Unprogrammed appropriations (UA) have been used in previous years to divert funds from government corporations into risky infrastructure projects,” the letter said, adding that such mechanisms raise constitutional and legal concerns.

They also called for reforms to more than P210 billion in so-called “soft pork,” including cash assistance, subsidies, and confidential and intelligence funds, which they said are prone to political interference.

“Soft pork reduces citizens to begging from politicians, instead of receiving services through rights-based and rules-based programs,” the groups pointed out.

The coalitions said politicians should be excluded from beneficiary selection, citing the continued use of the guarantee letter system.

If reforms cannot be implemented before the budget is signed, the groups recommended tagging the projects for conditional implementation or later release.

On infrastructure spending, the letter urged the President to place more than P600 billion in projects under multisectoral citizen monitoring, with particular focus on over P180 billion in projects initially flagged as possibly repetitive or overpriced.

“Citizen monitoring can help reduce corruption risks and restore public trust in infrastructure spending,” the groups said.

The coalitions also reiterated calls for budget-cycle reforms, including increased transparency, early multisectoral participation in budget preparation, and the passage of long-pending governance measures.

A former lawmaker on Saturday decried a provision placed by the bicameral conference committee in the 2026 budget that bars politicians from intervening in “ayuda” payouts, including medical aid, warning that this could harm patients in need of healthcare assistance, with the poorest being the hardest hit. 

Ex-Bagong Henerasyon Representative Bernadette Herrera was referring to Section 78 of the General Provisions of the 2026 GAB, now awaiting President Marcos’s signature to become law. 

Herrera is the wife and predecessor of Rep. Robert Nazal, the incumbent BH Partylist representative in the current Congress.