As the Palace announced that it had already greenlighted the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) 2027 of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), a political analyst said it is now the right time to reinstate stalled flood control projects to fund the repair of roads and bridges damaged by natural catastrophes such as typhoons and major earthquakes that battered the country this year.

“Our government must give equal priority to the restoration of funding for the flood control projects. Given the relentless flooding that our communities face, reinstating these funds is a necessary move that will protect Filipino lives and stimulate economic growth,” University of Santo Tomas-Department of Political Science head Professor Dennis Coronacion said in a Viber message.

To recall, the magnitude 7.8 offshore earthquake that struck off Maasim, Sarangani, on 8 June caused widespread infrastructure destruction, resulting in more than P1.46 billion in structural losses and leaving thousands of homes and public facilities severely damaged across Mindanao.

The tremor affected more than 1,000 public and private structures, according to reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

On the other hand, Super Typhoon Inday, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), affected 10,984 families in Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, and Soccsksargen, causing widespread flooding and landslides in parts of Mindanao.

There were 74 flooded areas across Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the OCD said.

Timely for SONA

Meanwhile, Coronacion said the timely completion of the 2027 national budget proposal is a welcome development ahead of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the opening of Congress.

“However, given the past controversies, this critical spending must be strictly monitored by the government, as well as the public and civil society. The government, for its part, must guarantee strict oversight, clear accountability, and absolute transparency before a single peso is released,” he stressed.

Cautious optimism

For the business community, Edgardo Lacson, chairperson of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), said the 2027 NEP, which is seen as the government’s promise to improve Filipino lives, can only be viewed with cautious and guarded optimism because of the recent trillion-peso anomalies that remain unresolved involving substandard and ghost flood control projects.

“If government faithfully adheres to the priorities embodied in the NEP, free from the misallocation, misalignment, misappropriation, and wastes that have tainted previous budgets, including the now-infamous anomalous flood control projects, it will be more than just another spending plan or accounting blueprint but a moral document. As they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” said Lacson.

“The measure of the 2027 NEP’s success will not be how large, how quickly it was approved, or how many projects it announces. It’s how faithfully it will be implemented and how much the lives of ordinary Filipinos will improve. Until the last peso is spent and accounted for, people are holding their breath,” the ECOP chair added.

On Friday, Presidential Communications Office Acting Secretary Dave Gomez said the Cabinet approved the proposed 2027 NEP presented by the DBM during a meeting presided over by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace.

However, Gomez did not disclose the full amount and details of the proposed spending plan, as these would only be made available to the public once the President officially submits the proposed 2027 NEP to Congress as part of the budget process.

Based on National Budget Memorandum 158 issued by the DBM on 25 June, the Marcos administration is eyeing a P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, equivalent to 21.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), higher by six percent or P407 billion than the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026.