Much ado about insertions

Undersecretary Claire Castro the other day insisted that budget insertions are not inherently wrong and only become problematic when funds go into a politician’s pocket instead of legitimate public projects.

She said this in the wake of intense scrutiny over significant budget allocations and insertions in the 2027 national budget, particularly those relating to the public works budget for the 1st District of Ilocos Norte, which is represented by Cong. Sandro Marcos.

Obviously, the purpose is to justify such a significant net increase, which jumped by P4.38 billion from roughly P400 million to over P4.7 billion in total.

To be honest, there’s nothing more hypocritical than the Palace spokesperson’s statement. Insertions are always inherently bad.

To begin with, these allocations are tied to systematic kickbacks and illegal payoffs. No congressman in his right mind would surreptitiously manipulate the budget just because he has nothing better to do. As testified to by key whistleblowers, every proponent gets 20 percent of these insertions. So, it makes sense to constantly realign and amend.

Certainly, instead of funding actual infrastructure projects and significant development programs, corrupt officials and private contractors exploit these insertions to siphon money directly into their private pockets.

As proof, many inserted projects turn out to be “ghost projects” that are either never built, left unfinished or constructed using substandard materials.

Just to be clear, this doesn’t mean Cong. Marcos automatically receives personal benefits from these revisions. But it wouldn’t be far-fetched to think he does.

But in the event he and other lawmakers don’t, insertions are still wrong because they are often used as tools for political patronage and therefore further strengthen political dynasties’ grip on power.

Indeed, these influential families use them as leverage to favor specific local government units so they can wield influence over them. This explains why they keep on winning because these massive tranches of insertions give them the appearance of being efficient public servants.

In reality, though, by realigning the budget, they actually displace vital funding needed for national calamity funds, social services or foreign-assisted projects... while fattening their bank accounts.