MANILA, Philippines – Budget watchdogs are urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to take action on some P633 billion worth of projects in the proposed P6.793-trillion 2026 national budget that are at risk of corruption and perpetuating political patronage.

In a letter addressed to Marcos, the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) and the Roundtable for Inclusive Development (RFID) sounded the alarm over P243 billion in “shadow pork” items or unprogrammed appropriations that may be released with minimal scrutiny.

They urged Marcos to veto these line items, which have been previously used to divert funds from government corporations to risky infrastructure projects such as flood control.

The RFID and PBC explained that, while the Senate and bicameral conference committee (bicam) removed the P43-billion Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs (SAGIP) program, unprogrammed appropriations remain risky for several reasons.

“Special provisions on unprogrammed appropriations had violated specific provisions in the PDAF ruling of the Supreme Court, which said that UA can be released only if the WHOLE revenue program is exceeded, not just cherry-picked line items in non-tax revenues such as dividends from government corporations,” they wrote.

Both groups also questioned the constitutionality of unprogrammed appropriations, since Congress uses this to artificially increase the budget ceiling set by the president.

‘Soft pork’ programs

Aside from unprogrammed appropriations, the RFID and PBC also urged Marcos to minimize “soft pork” programs that enable political patronage worth around P210 billion by issuing an executive order containing guidelines for the release of funding for ayuda (social aid) programs.

If an executive order cannot be produced by the time Marcos signs the budget, the RFID and PBC suggested to tag these programs as “for conditional implementation” and “for later release.”

“Politicians must be excluded from the process of selecting beneficiaries, prevalent under the inhumane and unconstitutional guarantee letter system that encourages post-enactment intervention by legislators in the budget,” they said.

The groups sounded the alarm over the bicam’s tripling of “soft pork” funding to P210 billion from the President’s proposed budget under the National Expenditure Program. These include the controversial Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) worth P51 billion from the original P49 billion.

Watchdogs have flagged programs such as MAIFIP for enabling political patronage as beneficiaries need a guarantee letter from politicians. Health workers’ groups proposed to divert MAIFIP funds to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), but Health Secretary Ted Herbosa rejected the suggestion.

“Soft pork is composed of ayuda programs at risk of political patronage that reduce our citizenry to begging from politicians, as opposed to right-based and rules-based programs which citizens deserve with dignity,” the groups explained.

Lawmakers who participated in the bicam earlier claimed that reducing funding for MAIFIP would affect some 1.1 million patients nationwide since the universal healthcare law has yet to be fully implemented. But health groups argued that MAIFIP sidesteps universal healthcare instead of boosting it.

Call for systemic reforms

To ensure the proper implementation of some P600 billion in infrastructure projects, the RFID and PBC recommended the issuance of an executive order placing these projects under a multisectoral monitoring initiative. 

“Require the DPWH to update their highway, bridge, and flood control design manuals to ensure these are science-based interventions that focus on nature-based, integrated water resource management, road and commuter safety, and consistent with the President’s pronouncements of the ‘end of car-centric development,’” they said.

The bicam approved a P529.6 billion budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways, P94.8 billion less than the proposed P624.4 billion in the House’s version of the spending plan.

The RFID and PBC reiterated their commitment to working with Congress in monitoring the budget process to ensure every peso of taxpayer money benefits the country. They also suggested the co-creation of an open budget transparency server between the executive, legislature, and civil society.

They also urged the Marcos Jr. administration to certify the following bills in Congress as urgent:

• Cadena Act for Budget Transparency
• Freedom of Information Law
• Public Financial Management or Budget Modernization Bill
• Independent People’s Commission Bill
• Political party reforms, such as the Anti-Dynasty Law and Campaign Finance Reforms

– Rappler.com