Tinio says part of PH debt going into 'pork barrel'; DBM calls claim inaccurate

ACT Teachers party-list Representative Antonio Tinio said Thursday part of the growing debt that the Philippines was incurring was going into a pork barrel, which the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) denied.

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Tinio said the country's debt has been growing since the COVID-19 pandemic, and has further increased during the term of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"Ang tanong, of course is, lumalaki nang lumalaki ang utang, saan naman napunta ito? Saan ginagamit? Ginagamit ang malaking bahagi sa budget to cover the budget deficit. Again, papalaki rin ang budget deficit sa ilalim ng Marcos Jr. administration. Saan ginagastos ang utang para pondohan ang budget deficit? Linalagay sa pork," Tinio said.

(The question, of course, is, our debt keeps growing and growing. So, where is it going? Where is it being used? A big part of the budget is being used to cover the budget deficit. Again, the budget deficit under the Marcos Jr. administration is growing. Where is the borrowed money going to fund the deficit? It is being put in pork.)

Tinio said that P1.7 trillion of the budget deficit is being used in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), infrastructure, flood control projects, farm-to-market-roads, and the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF).

The congressman cited the City of Naga and the City of Manila as areas where the LGSF was put into good use. He said it bankrolled repairs for the Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum in Naga, and funded the Senior Citizens Park and a community Pet Park in Manila.

However, the funds being discretionary raised an issue in other areas, Tinio said, with some poorer localities getting left behind.

Tinio also flagged the massive increase to ayuda programs such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development's Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation, the Department of Health's Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients, and the Department of Labor and Employment's Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers.

"Pinalaki 'yung bahagi ng social services na pork barrel na dinadaan sa politiko na kailangan lumapit ka sa politiko para maka-access ka ng social services," Tinio said.

(They increased the part of social services that has to go through politicians, that people have to ask these politicians for access to these social services.)

In a separate report from the ACT Teachers party-list, the group said that as debt grew, so did the budget deficit. While the debt and the budget deficit grew, so did several government programs. However, the group said in the report that the figures merely compared amounts, and that "they don't trace particular loans to particular projects."

Conflated statements?

In a message to GMA News Online, DBM Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran said Tinio's statement conflated separated statements.

According to Libiran, government borrowing finances the overall fiscal deficit, or the gap between government revenue and spending.

"It does not follow that borrowed funds are being placed in or used for so-called 'pork.' More importantly, there is no appropriation identified as 'pork barrel' in the proposed FY 2027 National Expenditure Program," Libiran said.

The DBM spokesperson maintained that the P7.2-trillion National Expenditure Program clearly identified where the government resources will go.

"It is therefore inaccurate to draw a direct line from government borrowing, to the fiscal deficit, and then to alleged 'pork.' Borrowing, deficit financing, and specific appropriations under the national budget are distinct fiscal concepts," Libiran said.

The DBM executive also defended the LGSF, saying that it was not pork either. She said it was not an unrestricted fund for political patronage.

"There are already clear statutory, administrative, and accountability safeguards governing the allocation, release, and utilization of the LGSF," Libiran said.

"For the LGSF-Financial Assistance to LGUs in particular, the process is not based on the intervention or endorsement of political intermediaries. Requests originate from the LGUs themselves, based on their identified local needs and priorities," Libiran said.

These requests are also not guaranteed, as the DBM has criteria that considered several factors before they were approved. Libiran also cited Belgica v. Secretary of Budget and Management, which ruled that the LGSF is a valid appropriation.

"The LGSF does not give the Executive—or any individual official—unfettered discretion to decide where public funds will go," she said.

GMA News Online has also reached out to Malacañang for a statement, but it has yet to respond as of posting time. — VDV, GMA News