House Assistant Minority Leader and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sara Elago on Saturday raised alarm over the P243.2 billion in unprogrammed appropriations under the proposed 2026 national budget, saying Congress must scrap the lump-sum fund, which is prone to corruption and misuse.
Elago said that despite the supposed “realignment” of flood control funds, the budget remains filled with “pork” in the form of unprogrammed funds, farm-to-market roads, and other discretionary infrastructure projects.
She added that the Marcos administration’s move to appear responsive to the flood control controversy fails to address the systemic misuse of funds.
“This budget is still a pork feast for the powerful,” Elago said. “Public funds are treated as political capital instead of a lifeline for ordinary Filipinos—farmers, fisherfolk, workers, and women struggling daily.”
The House is expected to pass the P6.793-trillion budget on October 13 before its Halloween break.
Apart from the unprogrammed funds, the House-approved version includes reduced allocations for the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Office of the Vice President.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson also backed the proposal of Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to remove unprogrammed appropriations, except those for foreign-assisted projects.
Lacson said the move would improve transparency and accountability in public spending.
“If I become part of the Senate contingent to the bicameral conference, I will join Senator Gatchalian and the voices of Filipinos outraged by corruption,” Lacson said, citing reports that the House rejected a proposal to cut P250 billion from the unprogrammed funds.
Lacson also urged lawmakers to practice self-restraint in amending the budget and to focus on institutional rather than individual allocations for local infrastructure projects.
