House leaders on Friday declared that the 2025 national budget signed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is “pork-free.”
House Assistant Majority Leader and Tingo Rep. Jude Acidre made the statement in response to concerns raised by administration critics that the old pork barrel system was revived under this year’s budget.
“If we’re talking about the pork-barrel style that was in place before, I don’t think that’s the case,” Acidre said.
“First, the line items are there. Second, the guidelines are crafted by executive agencies. The programs themselves will be implemented by the executive agencies. None of these projects, none of these items, have been delegated… to the legislative. So all are within the purview of the executive and the executive agencies,” the Tingog party-list solon explained.
“And I think in that case, I don’t think it’s fair to say that these are discretionary and they represent a return to the old pork barrel system,” he added.
Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte echoed Acidre’s defense of the recently signed General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2025 where over PHP194 billion in line items had been vetoed by the President, stressing that there was no “discretionary funds” present in the money measure as raised by some sectors.
In fact, Villafuerte lamented the former Senate President Franklin Drilon’s proposal for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to put off implementation of certain public works projects, including those meant to fix infrastructure projects heavily damaged by last year’s spate of violent typhoons, until after the midterm elections.
“Putting infrastructure projects on hold till the year’s second half, especially those planned public works meant to make vulnerable communities highly resilient ahead of this year’s typhoon season, will mean putting these places at risk anew from the tropical cyclones and other natural calamities of increasing frequency and intensity as a consequence of the climate crisis,” said Villafuerte, a former governor and president of the National Unity Party (NUP).
“As an example, travel to Bicol became a nightmare during the holidays last December owing to the heavy damage caused by typhoons to the Andaya highway in CamSur, leading to travel delays of 7 to 8 hours,” he said.
“If the the government were to heed Drilon’s FLR proposal government, then motorists and commuters will have to brace again for the same travel nightmare later this year,” Villafuerte said.
Former Senate President Franklin Drilon earlier called the infrastructure projects as congressional “pork barrel.”
Villafuerte recalled during the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III, Drilon, as Senate President, defended and justified the legality of funds released for projects endorsed by legislators under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which was declared later on as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Acidre asserted that education, healthcare and social services remained a priority in the 2025 national budget despite the removal of government subsidy for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.; the cuts in the proposed budget for computerization in the Department of Education, and the conditional cash transfer program “4Ps” under the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“If you look at it, the funding that was approved will go to the agencies where the money was really intended for. Even if there are issues with regards to the subsidy of PhilHealth, we’ve seen unprecedented levels of investment in terms of healthcare infrastructure. AKAP is also helpful as a social amelioration program for the near poor,” he explained.
