Palace defends nature of unprogrammed appropriations in nat'l budget

Malacañang on Tuesday defended unprogrammed appropriations in the national budget, saying that these funds can be used during times of natural calamities.

At a Palace press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro was asked for comment regarding those criticizing the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026, particularly the unprogrammed appropriations.

''Siguro po, trabaho naman po talaga ng mga oposisyon na sila ay mag-object kung sila’y may nakikitang mga issue. Pero sa palagay po at sa tingin ng pamahalaan at lalong-lalo na po ng DBM, sinasabi po natin ang budget lalong-lalo na po sa unprogrammed appropriations ay kinakailangan po lalong-lalo na po ito – hindi po ba nagkakaroon po tayo ng sinasabi nating magkakaroon ng pag-deplete ng funds ng NDRRM dahil sa maraming nagiging kalamidad sa ngayon,'' Castro said.

(It's the work of those in the opposition to object especially if there are issues. But for the government, especially the DBM, the budget including the unprogrammed appropriations are needed especially if the funds of the NDRRM has been depleted since there were a lot of calamities now.) 

''Sa ngayon po, kapag po na-deplete iyan at naubos na po ang contingent funds, diyan po naman kukuha sa unprogrammed appropriations mula sa SAGIP,'' she added. 

(Once depleted and if we no longer have contingent funds, then the government can get unprogrammed appropriations from SAGIP.) 

Castro said these unprogrammed appropriations would be utilized properly. 

''Kaya po tandaan po natin, kahit po ito ay nasa unprogrammed appropriations, iingatan po ang budget na ‘to at hindi naman po agad ito mailalabas para katakutan nila at sasabihing magiging pork barrel lamang,'' she said. 

(Even if these are unprogrammed appropriations, this will be used carefully and it won't be used as a pork barrel.)

On Monday, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading its version of the proposed P6.793 trillion national budget for 2026 under House Bill 4058, with realignments that increased allocations to the education sector to an unprecedented P1.28 trillion.

The House version of the General Appropriations Bill realigned the entire P255 billion of the Department of Public Works and Highways' initial proposed budget for locally-funded flood control projects after President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. called out anomalous flood control projects.

The House also removed P35 billion worth of funding for Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure Program (SAGIP) lodged under the unprogrammed fund.

Items under the unprogrammed fund are only funded when there is an excess revenue collection or funds from foreign loans or grants.

The Makabayan bloc vehemently opposed the passage on third reading of the proposed P6.7 trillion General Appropriations Bill for 2026, saying that it is a ''brazen continuation of the corrupt pork barrel system that has plundered billions of pesos from the Filipino people through more than 9,000 flood control projects from 2022 to the present.''

Meanwhile, when asked if the Department of Budget and Management would conduct an initial assessment as regards the lower chamber's version of the 2026 national budget, Castro said the DBM would wait for the version of the Senate. 

''Tingin po natin at nakausap po natin mismo ang taga-DBM, hihintayin muna po nila matapos para isang rebyuhan na lang at kung mayroon talagang hindi natutugma sa nais ng administrasyon na ito, malamang po ay maibi-veto kung anuman iyong dapat na mai-veto,'' she said.

(We've talked with the officials from the DBM and they said they would wait for the Senate version so that they will conduct just one review and if ever there are items not aligned with the priorities of the administration, these are likely to be vetoed.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News