House Budget Faces Scrutiny in P230-B ‘Pork’ Projects

House Budget Faces Scrutiny in P230-B ‘Pork’ Projects

By Wilma N. Yamzon & Bing Jabadan – TheNationWeek.Com | October 8, 2025

MANILA, Philippines – A coalition of civil society organizations and budget watchdogs is raising alarm over the House of Representatives’ proposed 2026 national budget, alleging it contains at least P230 billion in pork barrel and patronage-driven projects.

The accusation came despite assurances from the House Committee on Appropriations that it would avoid repeating the issues of “insertions” that plagued the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

In an open letter on Tuesday (October 7, 2025), the groups urged Congress to reallocate funds to critical social programs, including social protection, healthcare, agriculture, and sustainable transportation.

Signatories included organizations like the People’s Budget Coalition, PH Budget Watch, and former senator Franklin Drilon.

“We refuse to let the GAA remain a playground for patronage and corruption,” the letter stated.

“We call on Congress to hit reset on the budget, clean it up, and restore integrity to our budget process to truly respond to the needs of the nation,” the coalition declared.

Transparency Efforts

While the House granted observer status to many of these groups for the 2026 budget process to increase transparency, the coalition said it has “lost trust in the integrity of the budget process.”

It cited the House Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee’s (BARSc) decision to insert billions into programs that they believe “perpetuate political patronage.”

At the same time, it criticized the House for failing to address potentially abusive line items such as confidential funds and unprogrammed appropriations.

Unprogrammed Funds Under Fire

The BARSc, a subcommittee created for the first time under House Appropriations Chair Rep. Mikaela Suansing, realigned P255 billion from the Department of Public Works and Highways to programs like the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations, the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients Program, and the Department of Labor and Employment’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers.

These programs, along with the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita, had been previously criticized as potential avenues for congressional pork barrel, leading watchdogs to demand either their transformation into transparent, rules-based programs or their complete elimination.

Groups advocate reallocating funds to programs like the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and restoring government subsidies to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

They specifically highlighted the need to reinstate the P50 billion cut from 4Ps beneficiaries last year.

Furthermore, the coalition disputed the House’s claim that the P1.22 trillion education budget meets the benchmark of four percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), asserting that it only amounts to 3.6 percent.

Watchdogs noted that the P35 billion increase falls short of the P100 billion requested by the Department of Education and related agencies to address critical shortages in classrooms, computers, and funding for free college education.

Beyond the P230 billion in alleged pork barrel, the groups also flagged the “bloated level” of P250 billion in unprogrammed appropriations within the National Expenditure Program.

These standby authorizations, accessible only with new revenue or loans, are viewed with suspicion as potential vehicles for local pork projects or a way to siphon off funds from government corporations.

Minority Voices Echo Concerns

House minority representatives, including Reps. Leila de Lima and Perci Cendaña, support Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s call to eliminate unprogrammed appropriations (UAs) entirely, citing their abuse in previous years.

“We’ve seen in 2023, 2024, and even 2025 that the UA has been a source of abuse,” said De Lima, citing testimonies about lawmakers inserting funding for public works projects through the UA.

Cendaña stressed that important projects should not be relegated to unprogrammed status.

“If the unprogrammed appropriations stay, then it might cast a shadow on our efforts to cleanse the stain of corruption from our national budget,” he pointed out.

“We hope that Speaker Faustino Dy III will ensure its removal to show the House is committed to rebuilding public trust,” the coalition said.