ACT Teachers Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio exposed the unprecedented scale and abuse of unprogrammed appropriations during budget deliberations, revealing that President Marcos personally approved 3,700 infrastructure projects worth ₱214.4 billion over just two years.
Based on official data obtained from the Department of Budget and Management, Tinio disclosed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received ₱61.4 billion in unprogrammed appropriations in 2023 for 1,889 projects, and a staggering ₱153 billion in 2024 for 1,811 projects, for a total of 3,700 projects worth 214.4 billion in two fiscal years. These consisted of flood control projects, as well as the construction of roads and multi-purpose building.
“Ganito po ang unprogrammed appropriations – parang may isa pang infrastructure budget entirely. Sa panahon na lang ng budget execution, napupunuan ng halos 4,000 bagong proyekto,” Tinio said during the House budget deliberations.
The lawmaker emphasized that unprogrammed appropriations are lump-sum allocations without line items in the General Appropriations Act, making them essentially invisible to public scrutiny. “Walang readily available na listahan ng mga laman. Hindi po transparent, wala pa tayong full transparency kaugnay kung saan nilaan ang napakalaking mga halaga,” he stressed.
Tinio highlighted the historical increase and abuse of unprogrammed appropriations, noting that they reached unprecedented levels: ₱807 billion in 2023, ₱731 billion in 2024, and ₱363 billion projected for 2025. “Pambihira po ang naging paglaki ng unprogrammed appropriations. Walang kapantay actually kung bumalik pa tayo sa past 10 years or more,” he observed.
Tinio also noted in his interpellation that the lion’s share of projects in 2023 and 2024 were allocated in Region III, Region IV-B, Region V, and Region VII – areas that have emerged as hotspots for controversial flood control projects plagued by corruption.
Most significantly, Tinio established that all these projects required presidential approval under the Administrative Code. Citing Section 35, Chapter 5, Book 6 of Executive Order No. 292, he read: “Expenditures from lump sum appropriations… shall be made in accordance with a special budget to be approved by the President.” After initially claiming that approval of the Special Budget Requests required to access the Unprogrammed Appropriations merely required approval by the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, the sponsor of the DPWH in plenary, Rep. Romeo Momo Sr. was forced to acknowledge that approval of no less than the President was required.
“Ang nag-approve po ng lahat ng mga proyekto sa unprogrammed appropriations ay ang Presidente mismo. The approval is clearly with the President,” Tinio emphasized.
This revelation directly contradicts Malacañang’s claims that the President has no role in infrastructure corruption issues. “Ang sabi po ng Palasyo na wala pong role ang Presidente sa issue ng flood control: ‘Hindi siya involved sa corruption.’ However, ang malinaw po na na-establish natin – ang approval ng almost 4,000 additional infrastructure projects funded from unprogrammed appropriations ay lahat po yan, para mapondohan, kailangang aprubahan po ng Presidente.”
Afterwards, Tinio also noted the disclaimer made by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin that his office “has no involvement in any way with budgetary allocations relevant to the DPWH.” “Malinaw na directly involved ang Executive Secretary sa approval ng bawat proyektong nasa Unprogrammed Appropriations yamang Presidente mismo ang kailangan mag-apruba nito.”
Bersamin issued the statement to deny testimony provided by former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo involving the Office of the Executive Secretary in securing flood control projects.
“President Marcos Jr. himself should stop washing his hands and explain to the public how and why he approved 3,700 infrastructure projects from his own presidential pork barrel, the Unprogrammed Appropriations. Dito nagmula ang mga proyektong nasasangkot ngayon sa malaganap na pandarambong ng pondo ng taumbayan,” Tinio concluded. #
