IT IS a relief that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed the P6.793- trillion budget for 2026 on the first working day of the year. For a while there, we were worried that disagreements would lead to a reenacted budget. Such would be detrimental to our economic and social targets.
Equally important is the chief executive’s decision to veto seven of the 10 unprogrammed items in the budget. The vetoed items totaled P92.5 billion out of P234.4 billion. UAs now only total P150.9 billion.
Mr. Marcos said the unprogrammed funds that had been allowed represent “the absolute bare minimum.”
Unprogrammed funds have historically had bad press. Their discretionary nature has enabled too many politicians to promote themselves in the guise of public service. It’s a common affliction among officials regardless of political persuasion, geographical roots, even age. Their presence, even names and photos, have always accompanied events where citizens obtain assistance for their basic needs. It is the people’s taxes working for them, of course, but somebody who just received a food pack would tend to remember the smiling, caring politician who handed the goods to him.
In his statement at the signing – where curiously, and, we believe, unnecessarily, the use of mobile and other recording devices on the part of reporters was banned — President Marcos said that every peso of the budget would be used responsibly.
But some sectors remain skeptical of the President’s move. Vetoing some items and allowing the rest are not enough, say some critics. These are still gaps that can be exploited by those who know how to game the system.
We are being taken for a ride, say others, with all these pronouncements on transparency in the budget process.
These views are valid and deserve to be heard. We cannot lay blame on those airing them, what with the sneaky way the budget has been manipulated for years.
Nonetheless, the relatively more transparent deliberations and the conversations on unprogrammed appropriations are something to begin with. We are sure that the truly cunning minds will find a way to continue milking the imperfect system for their own benefit.
But that is where the public comes in. We have shown that public clamor gets things done, even if not completely. Over time, we will be able to improve this feedback system as we aspire for a truly transparent budget process and an equally transparent execution of what has been passed.
Institutionalizing transparency is the bare minimum for our leaders – that is, if they are genuine public servants instead of clowns and thieves. It is also the minimum for us, the people, because while the budget may be a technical subject, it is far too real involving our lives, and involving our future.
