Despite steps taken by the government to address issues in the national budget, congressional insertions remain a concern, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said Sunday.

Tinio said the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was not yet in its final form, noting that the agency was set to submit amendments to the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

He said budget insertions were among the reasons why many public works programs were delayed, as inserted projects were tagged as For Later Release (FLR).

Even with the P643.95-billion DPWH allocation under the NEP, Tinio said the public could expect the amount to increase in the finalized House General Appropriations Bill (HGAB).

“In short, there will be congressional—well, the usual term for that is insertions, and amendments. So, expect that there would be big changes in the GAB,” Tinio said in a statement.

Tinio based his observations on data presented by the DPWH during budget deliberations before the House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, 26 August.

The agency reported that of the 17,764 projects included in the 2026 General Appropriations Act, only 7,467 projects had been awarded, amounting to P146.41 billion out of the P459.89-billion total budget.

The DPWH cited its inability to conduct early procurement, the release of the Special Allotment Release Order only between May and June, and stricter documentation requirements as the primary reasons for the delays.

Tinio, however, said the system was stretching the “standard timeline” for completing projects, with consequences for the public.

“My point being, because of this system of errata, insertions, and so on, the standard timeline to construct, at least two years. Whether big projects or small,” he said.

“The pork barrel system is the major bottleneck to economic development and delivery of basic services,” he added.

The teachers’ representative acknowledged that the current administration was taking steps to address the alleged anomalous scheme but questioned why congressional insertions remained part of the process.

“Even if you say there are reforms, it is still here, there will be congressional amendments, insertions,” Tinio said.

Under the newly proposed DPWH budget, 11,395 projects were included, continuing the downward trend from more than 25,000 annual projects in 2024 and 2025.

Notably, flood mitigation projects, previously referred to as flood control projects, were excluded from the 2026 budget but were included again in the proposed allocation, receiving P107 billion.