“Together, Marcos, the Speaker, and the DBM have turned the national budget into an instrument of control rather than service”
WHEN the House of Representatives approved the 2026 national budget worth nearly 6.8 trillion pesos, its leaders called it pro-people and reform-oriented.
Yet beneath the speeches and press releases lies another corrupt budget, a continuation of the same flawed and self-serving system that has long defined Philippine politics.
It is, in truth, a sequel to the 2025 budget, which many lawmakers and analysts called the most corrupt in our history.
That earlier budget worsened the flood control corruption scandal, where billions of pesos meant to protect communities from floods were lost to rigged biddings, overpriced materials, and ghost projects.
The scandal was supposed to be a turning point. Instead, the 2026 budget repeats the same story with new actors and bigger numbers.
The 12 representatives who voted no saw through the illusion of reform.
At the center of their dissent are the unprogrammed appropriations—massive funds that can be released if “excess revenues” appear but in reality operate as hidden reserves for political favors.
Representative Cielo Krisel Lagman said she was “conscionably disturbed by the continuing presence of unprogrammed appropriations.”
Chel Diokno argued that “all line items under unprogrammed appropriations should be revised to zero. If these items are truly priorities, then they should be in the programmed appropriations.” Their words describe what this fund truly is: a loophole that allows corruption to flourish in plain sight.
Antonio Tinio, speaking for the Makabayan bloc, called the budget “a brazen continuation of the corrupt pork barrel system.”
He estimated that nearly 700 billion pesos remain under discretionary control, a figure that mocks the idea of fiscal discipline.
Leandro Leviste, echoing the warnings of the flood control whistleblowers, quoted a former DPWH official who said that “almost 100 percent of all biddings in DPWH nationwide are rigged.”
Leviste warned the new public works budget would only “fund more kickbacks” unless the system was reformed.
Other dissenters pointed to the shadows that still haunt the budget process.
Kaka Bag-ao described unprogrammed appropriations as “a shadow behind the process, invisible but with the power to affect the lives of the people.”
Renee Co noted that “unprogrammed funds are still in the 2026 budget” and condemned the secrecy of the bicameral conference committee, where major changes are made without public scrutiny.
Sarah Elago called the measure “a pork feast for the powerful,” denouncing confidential and intelligence funds that cannot be audited.
For others, the issue is moral as well as political.
Dadah Kiram Ismula said, “your heart is where your money is,” reminding the chamber the budget reveals true priorities.
Leila de Lima was direct and uncompromising: “I vote no to the 2026 General Appropriations Bill. Wala na dapat unprogrammed appropriations. Wag lang zero kundi no, no.”
Their words cut through the noise of justification and exposed what this budget really stands for—continuity of corruption dressed up as reform.
Accountability must start at the top.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. bears ultimate responsibility for this corrupt budget.
He sets national priorities and signs the final appropriations into law. His refusal to eliminate unprogrammed funds and confidential allocations shows consent, not ignorance.
The new Speaker of the House, eager to prove loyalty, shepherded the measure through with minimal debate and maximum discretion.
The Department of Budget and Management, which should guard fiscal integrity, has instead enabled abuse by maintaining opaque releases and politically driven reallocations.
Together, Marcos, the Speaker, and the DBM have turned the national budget into an instrument of control rather than service.
They preside over a system that rewards loyalty, protects corruption, and punishes dissent.
The flood control scandal of 2025 should have forced reform. Instead, it became the blueprint for business as usual.
After all the promises of transparency and change, the Filipino people deserved a clean and honest budget. What they received instead is another corrupt one—conceived in Malacañang, passed by a compliant Congress, and executed by a complicit bureaucracy.
For this betrayal, Marcos, the new Speaker, and the Department of Budget and Management must be held accountable.
The Senate can still save us. But does it have the courage to stand up against the House and the President?
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