📷: IBON Foundation / FB
Independent research group IBON Foundation has raised alarm over the Marcos Jr. administration’s proposed Php7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, claiming it heavily prioritizes industrial infrastructure projects at the cost of essential public social services.
According to data compiled by the group, the government has slated Php1.5 trillion for its infrastructure program, an amount that outpaces funding for individual sectors critical to human development and basic relief.
In a head-to-head breakdown of the expenditure plan, IBON pointed out that the infrastructure budget eclipses the Php1.1-trillion allocation for education, the Php546-billion budget for social protection, the Php345.9-billion allotment for health, and the Php14.4-billion budget for housing.
The think tank argued that directing massive resources toward mega-highways, railways, and commercial flood control systems disproportionately channels economic benefits to large corporations and real estate developers.
This strategy, the group stated, leaves ordinary citizens vulnerable to the compounded pressures of ongoing consumer inflation and local job scarcity.
Conversely, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has defended the fiscal plan, themed “People-Centered Growth for an Inclusive and Resilient Future.”
Government planners maintain that aggressive capital spending serves as a core driver for economic expansion by creating structural jobs, cutting logistics costs, and attracting vital foreign investments.
Deliberations over the 2027 National Expenditure Program continue in Congress, where lawmakers face the challenge of evaluating public spending efficiencies against a projected national debt burden that economists warn is narrowing the country’s discretionary fiscal space.# (ZIA LUNA)
