by Diego Morra
Thus said Social Watch Philippines (SWP) as it challenged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to finally strip the 2026 national budget of ₱319.04 billion in questionable allocations that would replicate the hemorrhage of taxpayer money through the graft-ridden flood control projects (FCPs).
It behooves Marcos Jr. to start showing he’s got the chops to ferret out unnecessary programs, projects and activities in the 2026 budget, including the ₱8.1-billion earmarked for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) ostensibly for barangay projects that already duplicate what local government units (LGUs) and other agencies like the DILG and DA are already working on. It has such a huge outlay for red-tagging and associated overt tactics that have already been banned by the Supreme Court (SC.) Generals and ex-generals are not entitled to pork barrel.
Bad habits die hard, if ever they die at all. In July 2025, Marcos Jr. slammed the 15 contractors who profited immensely from overpriced, substandard and ghost FCPs and set the ball rolling for congressional investigations while Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, who was the former chief of the House appropriations committee, was eventually tagged as one of the lawmakers who moonlight as contractors, months after he was canned as appropriations chief and placed in the doghouse. This alone was enough to compel Co to move against his former allies and tag Marcos Jr. himself as responsible for insertions and received huge commissions from him or through Palace underlings.
As President, Marcos could have convened the hotshot lawmakers to a conclave to once and for all kill pork barrel for the nonce and declare that the 2026 would no longer contain any largesse to sustain political patronage and line the pockets of the wolves. It is the kind of leadership that the Filipino people wanted him to exhibit. A year without pork would technically be good for the collective conscience of lawmakers. They may even find that a pork-less budget may be good for their souls, if they have a soul. Isn’t there nobility of purpose in asking lawmakers to abide by teamwork and stop making hay while people drown. Had Marcos Jr. valiantly done that, lawmakers would have thought twice in being contumacious and repeating the same insertions that bleed the people dry. Between the interest of lawmakers and the detritus of the bureaucracy and the howling rage of the Filipino people, the President should have said sternly: No pork.
Yet, SWP finds that items reeking of pork are a dime-a-dozen in the ratified 2026 budget bill. Indeed, the Makabayan Bloc lawmakers— ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Kabataan Rep. Renee Co and Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago— found the bill to reek of pork that they rejected it outright as proof that Congress is obdurate, muy grueso, and would not reform itself. A leopard would not change its spots. So SWP is now practically pleading with the President to start kicking the bucket of graft. Call it Bongbong’s epiphany, or technically an attempt to salvage the tarnished reputation of the republic, but heeding SWP’s call and the demand of the Makabayan Bloc to finally craft a sensible budget that promotes the people’s welfare would show that midway into his term, Marcos Jr. is slogging his way to become a statesman. SWP co-convenor Dr. Ma. Victoria Raquiza criticizes the crafting of the 2026 budget bill for repeating the errors of past budgets, as when a smaller committee starts inserting various unnecessary items to pander to the interest of political dynasties, and urges Malacanang to just veto highly questionable items that would cost the sovereign people ₱319.04 billion in the ratified budget bill. These are the dubious items inserted by bicam members at the last minute and the lump-sum appropriations that are the corrupt DNA of the old pork barrel system technically swept away by the Supreme Court in 2013. The process is as unseen as a black cow on a dark night.
The budget is not an appropriate response to the public outrage over corruption and wasteful spending. “The 2026 budget is not people-centered, despite what the bicam claims. It is extremely disappointing how Congress ignores the public’s anger over unprecedented levels of corruption and the alarming use of public funds to promote patronage politics,” Raquiza argued. Sub rosa deals were hatched despite the bicam livestreaming and adjustments were made hastily, thus undermining whatever is left of the public’s trust in Congress. She said such actions “undermine the transparency and accountability of the process. They worsen the public trust deficit in government and intensify public cynicism of its commitment to uphold every Filipino’s right to a just and fair budget.” SWP said Marcos Jr. should veto the following: ₱81.94-billion increase in the Basic Infrastructure Program (BIP) and the Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Alleviating Gaps (SIPAG) program under the Convergence and Special Support Program (CSSP) of the DPWH as they overlap existing programs; ₱8.9-billion Farm-to-Market Roads (FMR) of DA that reared its ugly head in the bicam without House and Senate hearings, and; the ₱10-billion Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk (DA) that duplicates the ₱8.55-billion in aid and subsidies of existing DA programs and projects.
The following should also be vetoed: ₱2.73-billion for the Tulong Dunong Program for the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on top of the ₱37.55-billion to cover the cost of universal access to tertiary education; ₱15.33-billion Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Assistance Program for Local Government Units (LGUs) under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) which overlaps other regular programs; ₱23.048-million Philippine Pavilion at the 2026 United Nations Climate Conference (Climate Change Commission), another bicam insertion not included in either the House or Senate versions and it is funded by unjustified cuts to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Region X regional office budget for Domain/Land Recognition, Management and Development Services, and IP Human Rights, Legal, and Basic Social Services; ₱5.25-billion in confidential funds (CFs) even as civilian agencies are not engaged in surveillance or covert operations, and Marcos Jr. may take the lead by junking his CF; ₱13-billion for social protection and assistance programs with questionable increases, composed of DOH Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) at ₱51.6-billion; DOLE’s Tulong Pangkabuhayan sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) at ₱22.4-billion, and; DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations or AICS at ₱63.9-billion.
SWP also scored the ₱56.873-billion LGU assistance fund as the 300% increase by the bicam will intensify political patronage and waste scant resources. Raquiza said Marcos Jr. should pass a supplemental budget to cover the ₱138-billion “ayuda funds” and the ₱56.873B LGU fund and revert the allocation back to the National Expenditure Program (NEP) levels of ₱63.4B-billion and ₱6-billion, respectively. As regards the ₱243.4-billion Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA), SWP says the President could retain all budget items except Budgetary Support to Government Corporations and the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program, as both of them already have dedicated budgets under special purpose funds. There should be strict enforcement of quarterly public reporting of UA releases through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and agency transparency seal portals. The second option is a total veto of all 10 UA items, subject to a supplemental budget that clearly identifies funding sources and provides a breakdown of expenditure details. “The Filipino people are angry and frustrated over how their money is being spent. We call on the President to veto these questionable budget items and stand with the people. This veto is essential to rebuild the integrity of the budget process,” Raquiza concluded.
