Senate already removed P80B SAGIP from 2026 budget

Senate of the Philippines had already removed the P80-billion Support to Augment Government Infrastructure Projects (SAGIP) fund from the 2026 national budget, even before President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. exercised his line-item veto powers, Senator Win Gatchalian said on Monday.

In a statement issued after the signing of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), Gatchalian said he respects the President’s constitutional authority to veto specific provisions but emphasized that SAGIP—long criticized as a potential source of abuse—was no longer included in the version approved by the Senate.

“I would like to highlight that the P80-billion SAGIP under the Unprogrammed Appropriations had already been removed by the Senate,” Gatchalian said.

He noted that SAGIP had repeatedly been flagged as a channel for corruption, particularly in flood control projects where lump-sum allocations were allegedly parked without sufficient safeguards. In 2024 alone, flood control funds under SAGIP reached P86.93 billion, he said.

Gatchalian clarified that there was no direct veto affecting items under the Programmed Appropriations. He added that five of the seven items vetoed under the Unprogrammed Appropriations were originally included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the Executive Branch.

“These were part of the President’s Budget, which Congress merely acted on and refined,” he said.

The senator also addressed concerns over the inclusion of the RACE Program under the Unprogrammed Appropriations, explaining that it was listed solely for book-entry purposes and did not involve the release of actual cash.

“Similar to the CARS Program, it is a non-cash item that merely provides the legal basis for the Department of Trade and Industry – Board of Investments to issue tax payment certificates. Walang aktwal na pondong inilalabas dito (No actual funds have been released from this),” Gatchalian said.

Looking ahead, he said Congress would continue to coordinate closely with the Executive Branch to ensure proper implementation of the 2026 budget.

“Moving forward, we will closely monitor and coordinate with the Executive Branch on the implementation of the budget,” he said.