📷:Courtesy of Kodao Productions
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) on Monday criticized the second round of bicameral conference committee (bicam) deliberations on the proposed 2026 national budget, saying the deadlock reveals the continuing battle to preserve billions in pork barrel allocations.
According to BAYAN, the stalemate stems from the House contingent’s insistence on restoring the original version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which included a ₱54-billion increase in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget that the Senate had earlier slashed.
“This stubborn position has nothing to do with development needs or public welfare. It is fundamentally about pork,” BAYAN said in a statement.
The group noted that the DPWH has long been the “preferred vehicle” for pork barrel allocations because of its project-based nature, weak transparency mechanisms, and vulnerability to corruption.
“A lower DPWH budget means fewer discretionary projects to distribute and, ultimately, lower kickbacks for those who profit from the system,” BAYAN added.
BAYAN accused certain House leaders of colluding with the Executive to stall bicam proceedings rather than accept even modest reductions proposed by the Senate. “What we are seeing is not a principled disagreement between two chambers of Congress but a tug-of-war over who controls the pork and how much can be milked from the public coffers,” the group said.
The organization stressed that the impasse undermines public trust in the budget process. “The bicameral conference committee is supposed to reconcile differences in the name of the people, not to serve as a bargaining table for pork barrel allocations,” BAYAN declared.
The group reiterated its demand for transparency in the bicam process, calling for the immediate public disclosure of all amendments, insertions, and project lists by district, party-list, and senator. “The people have the right to know where their taxes are going and who stands to benefit from these budgetary maneuvers,” BAYAN emphasized.
BAYAN warned that unless Congress decisively breaks from the pork barrel system, starting with substantial cuts to corruption-prone DPWH allocations, every unresolved bicam round will continue to harm the public. “Every ‘draw’ in the bicam is a loss for the Filipino people,” the group said. (RRN)
