The legal battle over the constitutionality of the newly signed 2026 budget will proceed in the Supreme Court (SC) after President Marcos Jr. ignored calls to entirely scrap P243 billion in unprogrammed appropriations (UA) by vetoing only P92.5 billion, leaving over P150 billion in so-called standby funds deemed “pork” and susceptible to corruption, according to watchdogs.

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Edgar Erice confirmed to the Daily Tribune that the case will move ahead and is likely to be filed this week once he “secures a copy of the budget,” which was signed by Marcos on Monday.

“There should be zero unprogrammed appropriations. P1 or P100 billion, it is still unconstitutional. Necessary expenditures must be reflected in programmed appropriations,” Erice said in a message.

Though Erice acknowledged the gravity of the slashed items, he argued that partial reductions remain unacceptable unless abolished entirely.

Over the weekend, budget reform advocates made a “last-minute” appeal to Marcos to veto the UA from the 2026 budget. However, only P92.5 billion was removed, leaving P150.5 billion intact. The vetoed items represent about 62 percent of the P243 billion.

7 of 10 UA projects vetoed

In a briefing following the signing of the budget, Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said there are roughly 10 projects listed under the UA, seven of which were vetoed by Marcos.

Of the vetoed items, the payment for personnel services requirements accounted for the lion’s share at P43.245 billion, followed by Philippine government counterpart funding for foreign-assisted projects at P35.769 billion, and budgetary support to government-owned and controlled corporations at P6.895 billion.

Others are: fiscal support arrearages under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy Program (P4.32 billion), comprehensive insurance coverage for strategically important government assets and interests (P2 billion), prior years’ LGU shares (P14 million), and Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement Program (P250,000).

The three projects retained under the UA are: support for foreign-assisted projects (P97 billion), military modernization (P50 billion), and risk management related to private-public partnership projects (P3.6 billion).

Erice’s colleagues in the minority echoed the same frustrations over Marcos’ decision to retain some projects in the UA.

Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima argued that the veto of such a “considerably significant” amount of items does not erase the fact that the UA is unconstitutional, citing the dissenting opinion of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando on the recent SC decision ordering the transfer of PhilHealth excess funds to the national treasury.

“They lack definite and identifiable revenue sources, bypass constitutional safeguards, and surrender congressional power of the purse to executive discretion,” she lamented.

No excess revenues to fund UA

Furthermore, she stressed that there is no use in retaining the three items in the UA, as there is barely any excess revenue left to collect, citing a statement by Recto himself.

The UA serves as a standby fund outside the GAA, and the executive releases it only when there are excess revenues or when foreign grants or loans materialize to fund priority projects. Typically, the UA is tapped for emergencies or when infrastructure projects, social aid programs, and other initiatives are required.

“If there is hardly any excess revenue to collect, what funds will actually go into the UAs? Why include items in UA?” De Lima stressed.

Both Erice and De Lima agreed that the UA has no place in the national budget, asserting that programs with the highest priority should be lodged in programmed funds rather than in UA.

Minority lawmakers have long claimed that flagship programs and big-ticket projects were deliberately bumped off to UA to make room for “insertions” of lawmakers.

This is evident in recent budgets, according to Erice. He said that in 2024 and 2025, P399 billion worth of projects were lodged in the UA, including the Metro Manila Subway and the expansion of the Philippine National Railways, also known as the North-South Commuter Railway.

These are flagship projects of the Marcos administration, touted to transform urban transport before 2030, but incurred a nearly five-year delay due to a lack of funding.

Initially, the subway was scheduled for completion by 2028, while the PNR extension is scheduled for 2029. However, the government's lack of excess revenue to fund these projects under the UA pushed the completion date to 2032.

‘Insertions’ gutted flagship projects

Erice contended that there is nothing to blame for why these projects were gutted in recent budgets except congressional insertions amounting to a staggering P1.45 trillion.

Congress, he added, prioritized flood control projects—whose funds were also drawn from the UA—over the two railway programs, because kickbacks are common and much easier to obtain there, along with rock netting, cat’s eye, and solar street lights.

Erice said that the prolonged delay will cost the government an additional P260 billion in expenses to cover commitment fees, labor, and materials.

Meanwhile, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio strongly condemned the veto of P43.245 billion for the payment of personnel services requirements, supposedly intended for hiring new employees and payment of retirement benefits of civilian and uniformed personnel.

He lamented that Marcos’ veto message provides no explanation or justification for the specific veto, despite the fact that the President himself originally proposed funding for it under the National Expenditure Program.

Bicam to blame

Tinio said the bicameral conference committee, which is responsible for drafting the final version of the budget, shares the blame for bumping the line item off to the UA “to make room for insertions.”

Of the P43.245 billion, Tinio said P10.772 billion has been cut from the hiring of new personnel, affecting over 259,000 job orders or contractual workers in the government, including over 41,000 professors, instructors, and administrative staff in state universities and colleges.

“The cut means they cannot be hired as regular government employees and will have to endure yet another year as underpaid yet overworked contract workers,” Tinio emphasized.

The remaining P32.472 billion, meanwhile, was intended for terminal leave benefits of retiring personnel in the civilian and uniformed bureaucracies, including the police and the military.

“This can only mean that personnel benefits will be delayed or denied, with the perennial excuse of ‘lack of available funds,’” Tinio said.

Similar to this year’s budget, the 2025 GAA also incurred massive vetoed items, totaling P194 billion, of which P16.7 billion was supposedly intended for flood control projects.

As a result, the budget was trimmed down from P6.352 trillion to P6.326 trillion.

The constitutionality of the 2025 GAA, derided by critics as the “most corrupt” budget ever enacted, is still being contested before the SC for featuring a bloated UA to the tune of P531.7 billion. The high court, however, has yet to hand down a decision on the matter.

Opposition lawmakers and watchdogs have branded the UA as a conduit for corruption and have rigorously pushed to scrap it from the current and subsequent budgets.