Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) lashed out at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., charging him with concealing his involvement in the flood control scandal while advancing a 2026 budget riddled with pork barrel insertions.
Bayan said the budget is loaded with lawmakers’ shady “allocables,” bloated unprogrammed appropriations, and bigger confidential and intelligence funds for the Palace. Marcos, they warned, still controls lump sum items ripe for corruption.
“Pork barrel remains embedded in the bureaucracy through the suspicious “allocables” for lawmakers. Marcos also retains control over lump sum items, CIF, and unprogrammed appropriations,” Bayan said in a statement.
The group slammed the Senate for restoring Vice President Sara Duterte’s budget despite documented fund misuse, calling it proof of elite collusion.
“Despite the documented misuse of funds involving her office, the budget of Vice President Sara Duterte was unquestioningly restored by the Senate.”
Livestreamed Bicameral sessions, they added, are just for show, since lawmakers can hide insertions in executive meetings.
After nationwide anti-corruption protests last November 30, Bayan declared the ICI useless, saying its real purpose is shielding Marcos from investigation.
The group urged Filipinos to keep protesting and demand the ouster of Marcos, Duterte, and other officials tied to systemic graft. (JCNE)
