EDITORIAL — Wishing for a ‘pork’-free budget

In late 2024, public outrage over accusations that Vice President Sara Duterte had misused P612.5 million in confidential funds was dissipated by revelations of corruption in the crafting of the annual national budget by administration allies.

While President Marcos exercised his veto powers over some of the most controversial items, it was seen mainly as a token gesture in correcting what those knowledgeable in budgeting have described as the most corrupt national outlay ever.

This new year, President Marcos has the opportunity to correct his perceived complicity in the budgeting anomalies, and to show sincerity in his avowed commitment to transparency, accountability and good government.

Both chambers of Congress have ratified the enrolled bill proposing a P6.79-trillion national budget for 2026. Malacañang said the President would forgo a holiday break to oversee a review “with a fine-tooth comb” of the Congress-approved outlay before signing it into law.

The “deliberate” review, as described by Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, would delay the signing and would mean having the government operate on a reenacted budget for about a week.

Among the issues raised against the 2025 outlay is that unprogrammed appropriations and the budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways were bloated way beyond what the executive had proposed, so that the funds could go to anomalous DPWH flood control projects with opportunities for kickbacks.

The unprogrammed appropriations, seen as the latest incarnation of the congressional pork barrel, have grown exponentially in recent years.

Unprogrammed appropriations had already drawn controversy in the 2024 General Appropriations Act, when the bicameral conference committee, to finance the pork barrel, inserted a provision requiring the impounding of supposed excess funds of all government-owned and controlled corporations.

Recto, at the time the finance secretary, issued the implementing memorandum circular. For this, he now faces a criminal complaint for plunder and malversation.

Among the GOCCs were the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. This year, the Supreme Court declared the impounding of PhilHealth funds for the unprogrammed appropriations unconstitutional.

And yet the current Congress has again included unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 budget, and larger than what the executive has proposed. Congress is also institutionalizing a slew of state-funded dole-out programs to feed political patronage, with lawmakers and other politicians having endorsement privilege over billions in ayuda funds. 

Budget watchdogs have called for the elimination of this “soft” pork barrel along with the unprogrammed appropriations. Would the President have the political will for this?

A clean, genuinely “pork”-free budget would bode well for the start of what should be a year of dramatic reforms.

It will be a truly happy New Year!