The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Wednesday said the unprogrammed appropriations (UAs) in the 2026 national budget are “constitutionally valid.”

In a statement posted on its official website, the DBM reaffirmed the legality of UAs amid heightened public scrutiny and growing calls for all forms of discretionary and confidential funds to be scrapped from the national budgeting process.

“[The] DBM maintains its position that the UAs under the FY 2026 General Appropriations Act are constitutionally valid,” the statement read.

“As previously upheld by the Supreme Court, the UA is a standby appropriation that may only be released upon the occurrence of clearly defined fiscal conditions and subject to strict validation and control mechanisms. It is not a lump-sum fund nor a blank check for spending.”

Unprogrammed appropriations are conditional spending authorities that may only be released if the government generates excess or additional revenues during the fiscal year. However, following the flood control controversy, UAs have become a flashpoint in corruption allegations, with critics arguing that such funds are vulnerable to misuse and political discretion.

The DBM’s statement came in response to a petition filed earlier in the day by House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, who asked the Supreme Court to nullify all UAs in the P6.793-trillion 2026 national budget.

In their petition, the lawmakers argued that UAs are unconstitutional because they allow the government to “spend beyond its declared means under the guise of ‘excess revenue.’” They said the Constitution requires the General Appropriations Act to be based on a clearly defined budget of expenditures and corresponding sources of financing, which they argued contradicts the conditional nature of UAs.

“It is a conditional permission to spend, the activation of which is left entirely to Executive discretion. This is precisely what the Constitution was designed to prevent,” the petition read.

The DBM said it “[respects] the right of any individual or official to avail of judicial remedies,” adding that it had not yet received a copy of the petition at the time the statement was issued.

“Upon receipt, the Department will carefully review the same and, consistent with established procedure, transmit the petition to the Office of the Solicitor General, which is the government’s statutory counsel,” the DBM said.

On an episode of the DAILY TRIBUNE program Straight Talk, Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste alleged that P60 billion in funds transferred from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to the National Treasury—later ordered returned by the Supreme Court—were funneled into unprogrammed appropriations and subsequently used for flood control projects.

Leviste claimed that a total of P220 billion in UAs was allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways, with more than half going to flood control projects.

“There is debate on whether those then were used for DPWH projects. But unprogrammed appropriations were used for DPWH projects,” Leviste said.

“So if you think that the funds are fungible, then to the extent that the funds went into unprogrammed appropriations, which were then used to fund DPWH projects, on that basis alone, you can say that the PhilHealth funds were used for DPWH projects.”

In response to public clamor, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday vetoed nearly P92.5 billion worth of items under the unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 budget, saying the move was meant to ensure public funds are spent strictly for clearly defined and essential purposes.

“Let me be clear: the Unprogrammed Appropriations are not blank checks. We will not allow the Unprogrammed Appropriations to be misused or treated as a backdoor for discretionary spending,” Marcos said.

He added that releases for UAs this year would be made “transparent, providing the necessary details on the funding source and the corresponding purpose.”

The DBM noted that total unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 budget stand at P150.9 billion—the lowest level since 2019—“reflecting heightened fiscal discipline and reinforced safeguards in the current budget.”