EXPLAINER: What are ‘insertions’ in the budget process? 

Questions about the alleged “insertions” in the national budget have been raised anew in Congress amid the revelations in the flood control investigation.

Some lawmakers were accused of having a hand in inserting billions worth of items in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA)---but what does this really mean, and is it a bad thing? 

According to Budget Undersecretary Goddess Libiran, there is practically no difference between budget insertions and amendments as they both happen at the congressional level. 

“Congress introduced changes and adjustments (CICA). Parehas lang (they’re the same),” Libiran told GMA News Online. 

“Basta Congress ang nag-introduce ng pagbabago, whether pagbabawas, pagdadagdag ng pondo, paggawa ng new program. CICA ang tawag. Insertion lang short term,” she added. 

(It is the Congress that introduced the changes, whether it’s a reduction or addition of funds, or creation of a new program. It is called CICA, but ‘insertion’ is the short term.) 

The review of the proposed budget of departments and agencies typically begins in the House of Representatives, then transferred to the Senate for another round of deliberations and amendments.

A Bicameral Conference Committee will be formed to consolidate the House and Senate versions of the budget.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has defended the move at the upper chamber, saying that amendments or insertions—whether individual or institutional—introduced during the deliberations in the Senate, “are part of the regular budget process."

“It is within the mandate of the Senators to amend and determine the government spending allocation. It serves as a crucial check-and-balance mechanism to ensure that public funds are spent in accordance with the law,” Sotto said

“It is unfortunate that the issue of ghost projects and failed flood control projects affected and generalized all amendments as illegal or improper,” he lamented. 

Sotto also said that some of the amendments were for additional classrooms, as well as farm-to-market roads and bridges that will benefit the public, especially those living in far-flung areas.

It was Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson who disclosed that “almost all” the senators of the 19th Congress inserted at least P100 billion worth of items in the 2025 GAA, noting that such were individual insertions and were held “For Later Release.” 

But some lawmakers upheld that not all budget amendments or insertions are bad, so long as they were used to enhance government programs and for the benefit of the public.

In January, the DBM said all congressional insertions in the 2026 GAA would require a special allotment release order before funds can be disbursed. 

“This serves as an added safeguard to prevent misuse of the budget, ensuring that increases or new items introduced by Congress align with the government’s cash programming, adhere to prudent fiscal management, secure approval from the President, and comply with budget rules and guidelines,” the agency said. 

At the lower chamber, former appropriations committee chairperson Zaldy Co is facing accusations from contractors and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials that he was behind the billions of budget amendments in 2025 for his personal gain. 

Co, who resigned from his post last week and from his party-list, Ako Bikol, denied the allegations, maintaining that he never made unlawful budget amendments.

"I wasn't the mastermind, and I did not tolerate or allow any supposed last-minute insertions and realignments in items in the 2025 GAA. All items in the 2025 GAA, including those stated in the corresponding Bicameral [Conference Committee] Report, were approved at plenary sessions and following the collegial process of both houses of Congress," Co said in his resignation letter.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. made an unprecedented declaration that the government is prepared to operate under a reenacted budget in 2026 as he warned that he will veto a proposed budget bill that will not be in harmony with his administration’s programs and priorities.

The DBM defines a reenacted budget as a situation where the previous year’s GAA is extended and remains in effect for a preceding year until such time Congress passes a budget bill into law. —LDF, GMA Integrated News