‘Epal’ banned from gov’t projects under 2026 budget. Will they obey this time?

Politicians are barred from putting their names or faces on government-funded aid or projects, or even personally hand out cash assistance, under the 2026 national budget.

Section 19 of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) bars public officials, candidates, and their representatives from participating in the distribution of financial assistance. The only ones allowed are officials with direct administrative and executive authority over the implementing agency.

Section 20 of the GAA prohibits the display of “name, picture, image, motto, logo, color motif, initials, or other symbol or graphic representation associated with any public official” on government programs and projects, including infrastructure projects.

The 2026 national budget has been criticized over its allocation for cash-assistance programs, which good governance advocates deemed a form of “soft pork.”

In a press briefing on Tuesday, January 13, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla urged the public to report violations via Facebook.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government has yet to finalize the process but is considering a website similar to Isumbong sa Pangulo, where citizens can flag anomalous infrastructure projects. Violators, Remulla said, will face administrative cases and suspension.

“The anti-epal guidelines are clear: If politicians violate the rules, we urge the public to take photos, post them on Facebook, and we can investigate. Their name cannot be displayed as having funded the project, their logo is prohibited, and their picture is not allowed,” Remulla said in Filipino in a Palace news briefing on Tuesday, January 13.

While there’s a provision in the 2026 national budget and a COA circular preventing politicians from affixing their identities on government projects and programs, Remulla also said that there’s a need for Congress to pass an anti-epal law.

Will this latest iteration of the anti-epal campaign actually work? The government first tried to stamp out the practice over a decade ago, when the Commission on Audit, through a guideline released on January 30, 2013, prohibited the practice of affixing politicians’ names or symbols on government projects, programs, and activities.

The circular clearly spelled out that affixing symbols or graphics to the following items bought using taxpayers’ money is not allowed:

• equipment and facilities
• vehicles
• wrappers and containers
• tokens and souvenirs
• calendars
• ballpens
• T-shirts or other apparel
• other publicity materials

Under Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code, candidates are also banned from using public funds, money deposited in trust, equipment, and facilities owned or controlled by government for any election campaign or partisan activity.

Yet despite these rules, Filipinos still see politicians’ names and faces on buildings, schools, tarpaulins, and other government-distributed items.

Public frustration has been mounting over the multi-billion-peso flood control corruption scandal, which has implicated politicians, government officials, and contractors.

With thousands of frustrated citizens watching, will politicians finally show some restraint and stop putting their names and faces on publicly-funded projects? Will they, at last, shed their thick skin? – Rappler.com