P11.5-B near-midnight pork ritual flagged

In the witching hour of 1 October, livestreamed on the House website but with media and civil society organizations made off-limits, a total of P11.49 billion worth of projects was inserted in the 2027 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is the favored conduit of legislators’ kickbacks.

The noticeable bump in the DPWH spending plan came during the Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc), which budget watchdogs branded as little more than a renamed version of the notorious “small committee” that manipulated past budgets.

Budget watchdogs identified P116.32 billion in amendments to the 2027 House General Appropriations Bill, of which P98.86 billion or 85 percent was tagged by private groups as questionable.

These were funneled to “ayuda” programs that run on politician referrals, infrastructure insertions with opaque project plans, the Local Government Support Fund, the House’s own budget, and confidential and intelligence funds.

The small committee typically consisted of only a handful of lawmakers, roughly four to 13 members, and it held discussions behind closed doors rather than in open plenary.

Critics questioned the lack of publicly available minutes and the extent to which major budget changes could be negotiated outside public scrutiny.

House leaders defended it as a longstanding parliamentary mechanism for efficiently consolidating amendments and said its output still had to be incorporated into and reported as part of the General Appropriations Bill.

“They call it reform, according to House Appropriations chairperson Mika Suansing. Good grief,” public finance expert Zy-za Nadine Suzara said. “It is simply another name for the ‘small committee.’”

“Civil society organizations were not allowed to monitor the proceedings on site, reporters were ushered out of the room, and the livestream was delayed for four hours,” she noted.

“The Committee on Appropriations is becoming predictable. You already know what could happen again during this year’s Bicameral Conference Committee. The Committee on Appropriations will very likely call another executive session, and the livestream will once again go dark just when the most consequential budget changes are being made,” she said.

“If the doors are closed, watchdogs are kept out, reporters are sent away, and the public is left waiting for a livestream that never comes, one question remains: what exactly has been reformed?” she asked.

To sustain infra spending

House Committee on Public Works and Highways Chairman Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. said most of the allocation was intended to support the DPWH’s national roads program amounting to P6.9 billion which involves building, upgrading, and maintaining various road networks spanning 35,664 kilometers around the country.

Aside from roads, Momo also sought P175 million to complete unfinished national bridges and earmarked another P307.5 million for the national building program.

The lawmaker also sought a separate P4.09 billion for the DPWH’s Convergence and Special Support Program (CSSP), which Malacañang recently described as an umbrella program funding infrastructure projects.

In pushing for the insertions, Momo said the government needed to invest more in infrastructure to boost the economy.

Due to reduced spending in prior years, Momo said there have been fewer jobs for Filipinos, as some construction companies have ceased operations while others have downsized their workforce.

“We should always remember that infra spending has proven to be the biggest economic driver. Right now, because of the reduced budget on infra, the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that there is an increase in unemployment,” he said.

After the proposed insertions were approved, Momo made a manifestation expressing his support for the special provisions the DPWH sought to implement in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The renewed guidelines reportedly intended to allow the Public Works agency to correct errors in the GAA that prevented the release of project funds.

Momo said that in the 2026 budget, P15 billion in funds intended for more than 700 projects were frozen as the agency was not allowed to modify project information.

He said that allowing the special provisions to be implemented would “speed up the implementation of projects.”

Amid recent issues surrounding DPWH expenditures, House Appropriations chairperson Rep. Mikaela Suansing said the agency would be required to submit “complete documentary requirements” for the projects.

DPWH boost flagged

In light of the proposals, the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) expressed concern, particularly noting that the BARSc failed to indicate how the P11.49 billion would be allocated.

The budget watchdog noted that the insertions were the “exact lines where the last few years’ ghost projects, and political or pet insertions lived.”

Particular line items that PBC flagged were the P4.09 billion included for the CSSP, the P4.96 billion for farm-to-market roads under the Department of Agriculture, P4.09 billion for the National Irrigation Administration, and the P1.55 billion for the Department of Health.

“The BARSc shows totals only. No project lists, no breakdown by region or district. In plenary, Secretary Vince Dizon said DPWH would publicize the list behind its P20 billion in ‘institutional amendments.’ The BARSc figure for DPWH is P11.49 billion with no list attached,” the group said.

Process delays

In line with the questions about the insertions, the PBC also challenged delays in the BARSc process, noting that the meeting was delayed by more than four hours.

The House special panel broadcast its hearing on 1 October, starting at 5 p.m., despite initially being scheduled for 1 p.m.