By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
THE SENATE started plenary debates on the proposed P6.793-trillion national spending plan for 2026, slashing Public Works budget while significantly increasing allocation for the education, health, and social welfare sector, amid public calls for greater transparency in the budget process.
“We are determined to restore what has been lost – leadership, accountability, and transparency,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, who heads the Finance Committee, said in his sponsorship speech, Wednesday evening.
“The first step towards rebuilding the trust of our people is showing them through specific and concrete actions, that their hard-earned money will be used responsibly, and that they know exactly where it is going,” he added.
The committee conducted 35 days of hearings before the budget proposals reached the Senate floor, following its implementation of transparency measures in the budget deliberations.
The panel slashed the Department of Public Works and Highways’ budget by P55.91 billion to P568.56 billion from the P624.48 billion proposed by the House of Representatives, over “red flags” in the agency’s projects.
“During the hearings, we discovered several red flags such as roads with no station IDs, duplicate projects, projects in multiple phases, and reappearing projects from previous year’s budget,” Mr. Gatchalian said.
The government has been facing a mounting corruption scandal where billions of pesos in public funds were siphoned off by public works officials, lawmakers and contractors, triggering public outrage and drawing calls for transparency and accountability.
The panel also removed unprogrammed appropriation in its version of the 2026 budget, noting its potential to be another source of corruption.
“During the budget hearings, one of our most painful discoveries was that unprogrammed funds had turned into a magnet for corruption.” Mr. Gatchalian said.
The senator added that it cut unprogrammed funding to P174.5 billion, a P68.5-billion reduction from its counterpart bill.
“Of 11 line items in unprogrammed funds, the Senate version reduced them to seven, with only three cash items.”
The Senate earlier vowed to weed out problematic budget insertions after the 2025 spending plan was flagged for unprogrammed appropriations. The 2026 proposal includes P250 billion in such funds, most of which are pre-planned initiatives rather than emergency contingencies.
Senators hiked allocations for the Education department to P992.66 billion, P78.5 billion higher than the House proposal of P914.14 billion, mainly to fund the construction of classrooms.
“One of our most urgent priorities is addressing the nation’s long-standing classroom backlog,” he added, noting a P19.3-billion increase to P68 billion for classrooms.
Senators also allocated P376.5 billion for the Health department to fund the Universal Health Care and Zero-Balance Billing Program.
Funding for Zero-Balance Billing program was increased by P9.3 billion to P62.6 billion, aimed at benefiting about 18 million Filipinos.
“These initiatives aim to ensure that every Filipino can access quality healthcare without the burden of financial hardship when seeking medical treatment,” the senator said.
The budget panel also increased funding for programs under the social welfare department, including the social pension benefits and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
Broken down, funding for social pensions for indigent senior citizens rose by P8.2 billion, while the 4Ps program climbed to P101.8 billion.
Last month, the House of Representatives approved on final reading House bill No. 4058, the General Appropriation Act, which rechanneled funding meant for flood control to the education, food, and healthcare sector. It also removed about P35 billion for unprogrammed appropriations.
Next year’s spending plan is 7.4% higher than last year’s budget, and equivalent to 22% of the country’s gross domestic product, which grew by 4% during the third quarter.
The Senate seeks to deliberate the national spending plan until Nov. 26, according to a copy of plenary debate schedule sent to reporters. Following Senate approval, the bicameral conference committee will convene from Dec. 3 to 6.
REBUILDING TRUST
Jose Enrique A. Africa, executive director of the research group Ibon Foundation, said that eliminating unprogrammed funding would show the Senate’s commitment to fiscal integrity and democratic control.
“Unprogrammed appropriations are among the least accountable items in the budget and are, in effect, executive pork barrel funds. Their vague purposes and off-budget nature reduce effective public oversight,” he said in a Viber message.
Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati said that cutting unprogrammed appropriations would help rebuild public trust.
“Cutting the P250-billion unprogrammed funds would signal fiscal discipline and help rebuild public trust by limiting discretion and enhancing transparency. But it should be replaced by social services for the people,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
Adolfo Jose A. Montesa, an advisor for the People’s Budget Coalition, said unprogrammed funding must be removed from the budget as it is a potential source of corruption.
“Due to its lump sum and contingency nature, the projects under unprogrammed appropriations are not subject to the same scrutiny that the regular budget goes through. Because of the lack of transparency and accountability,” he said in a Viber message.
He added that Congress must reallocate “patronage-based pork” towards better government aid policies programs.
“These programs have been weaponized by politicians as a means to create a dependent relationship – aid in exchange for votes. This is a form of pork that we must eliminate.”
He said that Congress must institutionalize transparency and accountability policies in the budget process, noting that this would lower corruption cases in the government.
“The most effective antidote to corruption is transparency, openness, and accountability — if we allow citizens to participate during every stage of the budget process, we are minimizing the opportunities for politicians to misappropriate funds,” Mr. Montesa said.
According to Mr. Africa, making the budget process available to the public is a crucial anti-corruption measure.
“The 2026 budget deliberations are happening amid widespread public frustration over opaque processes and anomalous pork barrel starting with but beyond flood-control projects,” he said.
He added that Congress must also disclose all legislative district allocations and all proponents of amendments or insertions.
The Senate in August mandated that all documents relating to the 2026 budget be uploaded to online platforms. This includes all transcripts of committee hearings, briefings, and technical working group meetings.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said earlier that the bicameral conference committee meeting on the proposed budget will be livestreamed to the public, following calls for better transparency in government spending.