Unprogrammed Appropriations (UAs), which have been marred by corruption allegations in recent years, will remain in the proposed 2027 national budget unless the Supreme Court (SC) issues a temporary restraining order (TRO), Senate President Win Gatchalian said Sunday.

Gatchalian made the assertion ahead of marathon Senate deliberations on the proposed P7.2-trillion budget, scheduled for the last week of August, while the House of Representatives will begin its hearings Monday.

The administration has proposed P111.2 billion in UA for 2027, the last full-year budget to be implemented by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before the May 2028 presidential election. Although the amount is considered a historic low for UAs since 2019, budget watchdogs have argued that they remain substantial and vulnerable to corruption

Watchdogs consistently describe UA not as a technical standby mechanism but as a parallel, less visible budget, or a shadow budget.

Pending petitions with the Supreme Court argued the UAs circumvent constitutional limits on appropriations.

In the 2027 proposal, UAs are pegged at P111.984 billion, the lowest ratio to total expenditure since 1991, explicitly attributed to “strong opposition from civil society groups.”

“As long as there is no TRO or resolution, it will proceed. The presumption of regularity applies. Nothing is indicating that it is prohibited, so the unprogrammed [appropriations] will continue,” Gatchalian said in a radio interview.

The Supreme Court recently concluded oral arguments on the constitutionality of UA provisions in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 General Appropriations Acts but has yet to issue a ruling.

UAs are standby funds that may be tapped when government revenues exceed projections or when grants and foreign funds become available. They are typically used for emergencies, infrastructure projects, social aid programs and other unforeseen needs.

Gatchalian, however, vowed that the Senate would closely examine the composition of the proposed UAs, particularly lump-sum allocations, and ensure that projects are properly itemized.

Floodgate

A lump-sum allocation refers to a pool of funds for a program or group of projects without a specific line-item breakdown, giving lawmakers and agencies greater discretion over how funds are spent after the budget is enacted.

The scrutiny comes amid investigations into alleged anomalies in flood control projects. About P141 billion reportedly used for flood control projects under the 2023 and 2024 budgets was allegedly sourced from UAs and has since been linked to “ghost,” substandard and duplicate projects.

Gatchalian, who chaired the Senate finance committee during the 2026 budget deliberations, acknowledged that some flood control projects had been loaded into UAs in previous budgets, although he said senators were unaware of the arrangement.

“We were all surprised to learn that the funds were being sourced from there because when we initially examined the GAA, we could not locate them. Upon analysis, we discovered that aside from the allocations in the programmed [appropriations] in the GAA, they also tapped unprogrammed [appropriations], which we, in the Senate, were unaware of,” he said.

Gatchalian stressed, however, that not all lump-sum allocations are inherently questionable, noting that UAs may legally be used for calamities and unforeseen events.

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson also flagged questionable lump-sum allocations in the proposed 2027 budget, saying these could again be used to finance infrastructure projects.

Abolition urged

The proposed UAs account for about 1.5 percent of the total 2027 budget. Critics and budget watchdogs, however, have called for its complete abolition because of concerns over transparency and corruption.

Lawmakers have described UAs as conduits for corruption, alleging that such funds have ballooned since 2023, Marcos’ first full year in office, to nearly P2 trillion. Of this amount, P168.2 billion was reportedly included among the items vetoed from the 2025 GAA.

The 2025 GAA was initially set at P6.352 trillion but was reduced to P6.326 trillion after Marcos vetoed P194 billion in line items he deemed inconsistent with his administration’s priority programs, including P16.7 billion for flood control.

For 2026, UAs were initially set at P243 billion but were reduced to P150.9 billion after Marcos vetoed P92.5 billion, or more than one-third of the amount approved by Congress.

Critics and watchdogs have alleged that lawmakers deliberately moved administration flagship projects into UAs during closed-door bicameral conference committee meetings to make room for their preferred projects, including infrastructure and flood control projects vulnerable to kickbacks.

Derailed

Among the flagship projects allegedly affected were the Metro Manila Subway Project and the North-South Commuter Railway, with estimated costs of P488.5 billion and P873.6 billion, respectively, for a combined P1.4 trillion.

The new Senate leadership under Gatchalian has committed to greater transparency in reviewing the 2027 budget, including safeguards against “leadership funds” and last-minute insertions.

The Senate also plans to livestream bicameral conference committee proceedings, which have traditionally been conducted behind closed doors and with limited public scrutiny.