Budget chief: 2026 budget is clean

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday assured the public that the proposed 2026 national budget is free from infrastructure-related corruption and ghost projects.

DBM acting secretary Rolando Toledo made the assurance during a press briefing at Malacañang.

“The budget is clean, from the deliberation to the bicameral,” Toledo said.

“There’s no reason for us to delay and no ghost projects. We can achieve the projected target as far as our infrastructure is concerned,” he added.

Toledo said the government is targeting infrastructure spending equivalent to 4.6 percent of gross domestic product, or about P1.3 trillion, under the 2026 budget.

He also said a significant portion of infrastructure funds will be entrusted to local government units, citing their familiarity with the needs of their respective communities.

“Lastly, the 2026 national budget is not just a list of numbers. It is a coordination between the national government and local governments,” he explained.

Unprogrammed appropriations

Toledo also addressed concerns surrounding unprogrammed appropriations, describing them as “not bad” and “not illegal.”

“Actually, the Supreme Court has already made a decision as far as the unprogrammed appropriations are concerned. But of course, for us, we will just look at what should be included in the list of unprogrammed appropriations,” he said.

“One of them is what we call foreign-assisted projects because we are being followed in terms of determining what should be in the program and for the unprogrammed,” he added.

The budget chief clarified that there were no directives from Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regarding unprogrammed appropriations for the 2027 budget.

“There is no instruction from our President. But from our end, from the Economic Barriers and Public Financial Management's perspective, we are following at least within 5% of the total program of the budget,” he said.

Disaster response funding

Toledo said the 2026 budget includes P15.33 billion for the Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Assistance Program for local government units.

He added that an additional P10.685 billion has been allocated for the Quick Response Fund.

“Our QRF, the agency can request, once they reach that 50% of their QRF has been utilized, they can request for replenishment that will be charged against the MDRIM Fund or National Disaster Risk and Management Fund,” he said.