THE House of Representatives allegedly inserted over P1 trillion worth of patronage-driven assistance programs, infrastructure programs and standby funds in its approved 2027 proposed national budget, a government watchdog told the Senate on Monday.
Adolfo Jose A. Montesa, co-convener of the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC), said the House added P210 billion in “soft pork” or patronage-driven aid, P695 billion in “hard pork” or politicized infrastructure and P122 billion in “shadow pork” or unprogrammed appropriations.
Mr. Montesa said the House of Representatives proposed an amount of P137 billion for financial aid, like the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations and Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk.
PBC co-convener Kenneth Isaiah I. Abante warned that the billions of pesos allocated to undocumented infrastructure programs may lead to a repeat of the 2025 flood control scandal.
As of Oct. 26, Mr. Abante said the PBC risk analysis of the infrastructure budget found the House inserted over 7,000 projects worth P190 billion, all of which lacked published project attachments.
For the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Congress inserted nearly 6,200 projects — most multipurpose buildings — worth P172 billion, he said.
He added that the House inserted 180 new health facilities worth P2 billion for the Department of Health but cut the overall health facilities budget. The chamber also added 200 new irrigation projects worth more than P7 billion under the National Irrigation Administration with questionable cost assumptions.
He also identified an additional 350 farm-to-market roads worth nearly P6 billion under the Department of Agriculture budget, with coordinates located in the Philippine Rise, a vast undersea region east of Luzon. Others were pinned to Algeria and Nigeria.
“We aren’t saying that all of these are corruption,” Mr. Abante said. “We need these infrastructures, but we want them to be done well.”
The PBC was speaking to the Senate Committee on Finance on Monday, which was invited along with 27 other civil society organizations (CSOs) and government watchdogs, to present their analyses and proposals on the 2027 proposed national budget.
Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, chairperson of the Committee on Finance, said the one-day consultation was to bring CSOs’ participation directly into the national budget.
To ensure the inclusion of CSOs outlasts his chairship, Mr. Ejercito filed two measures institutionalizing their participation in the preparation and authorization of the annual national budget. — Francessca S. Abalos