ACT hits Marcos veto of P43.2B fund for gov’t hiring, retirement benefits

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines on Tuesday criticized President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for vetoing P43.245 billion intended for the hiring of new government personnel and the payment of retirement benefits following the signing of the 2026 national budget.

The vetoed amount was listed under “Payment of Personnel Services Requirements” in the Unprogrammed Appropriations of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

ACT also rejected the explanation issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which defended the removal of the allocation from the signed budget.

ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo said the veto removed funds meant for the salaries and regular employment of newly hired teachers and other government personnel, as well as terminal leave benefits for retirees.

“Ang daming palusot ng DBM para pagtakpan ang kalokohan ng Pangulo. Malinaw na kabilang sa mga inalis na pondo at tinanggihang pirmahan ng Pangulo sa pambansang budget ang P43.2 bilyon sanang nakalaan para sa sweldo at regular na trabaho ng mga bagong guro at kawani sa gobyerno at benepisyo ng mga magtatapos na sa serbisyo,” she said.

(The DBM has made many excuses to cover up the President’s wrongdoing. It is clear that the funds removed and vetoed from the national budget include the P43.2 billion that was supposed to go to the salaries and regular jobs of new teachers and government employees, as well as the benefits of those retiring from service.)

Bernardo stressed that the veto was made at the start of the school year, which she described as a blow to government personnel.

“Unang araw ng pasukan ngayong taon, ang ibinungad ng administrasyon ay pagbabasura sa pondo para sa mismong kawani nito habang bilyon-bilyon pa rin ang pondo sa korapsyon, pagpapabango ng mga kurakot na pulitiko, at panunupil sa mamamayan.”

(On the very first day of the school year, the administration presented the scrapping of funds for its own personnel, while billions remain allocated to corruption, image-building for corrupt politicians, and repression of the people.)

GMA News Online has reached out to the Office of the President for comment and will update this story once a response is issued.

Gatchalian refutes claims

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, denied claims that the 2026 national budget cut the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) and pension allocations for government employees.

“Ito ika-clarify ko ha, ang bonus, mabibigay. Hindi nabawasan ang bonus… Sa NEP, ang performance bonus ay P27 billion, at sa GAA P27 billion rin. So walang nabawasang bonus,” Gatchalian said during a press conference.

(Let me clarify: the bonus will still be given. It was not reduced. In the NEP, the performance bonus was P27 billion, and in the GAA, it’s also P27 billion. So there was no reduction in the bonus.)

He added that the budget for the MPBF was almost doubled compared with the 2025 allocation.

Likewise, Gatchalian said the pension allocation remained at P147 billion from the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“’Yung pension, walang katotohanan na nabawasan ang pension. Fake news ’yun (There is no truth to claims that the pension budget was reduced. That’s fake news),” he added.

ACT Teachers Party-list Representative Antonio Tinio said that of the P43.245 billion vetoed, P10.772 billion was intended for the hiring of new personnel, affecting more than 259,000 job order and contract of service workers across the national government, including over 41,000 faculty and staff in state universities and colleges.

The remaining P32.472 billion, Tinio said, was intended for the terminal leave benefits of retiring civilian and uniformed personnel, including police and military members, raising concerns over possible delays or nonpayment of benefits.

Bernardo questioned why the allocation was vetoed despite being included in the original executive budget proposal.

“Mismong ang Pangulo ang nagpanukala ng pondong ito sa 2026 budget. Inilipat ito ng mga mambabatas sa Unprogrammed Appropriations upang bigyang-daan ang kanilang mga insertion, at sa huli, mismong ang Pangulo rin ang bumawi at nagbasura ng pondo sa pinirmahang budget,” she said.

(The President himself proposed this funding in the 2026 budget. Lawmakers transferred it to the Unprogrammed Appropriations to make room for their insertions, and in the end, the President himself withdrew and vetoed the fund in the signed budget.)

ACT also criticized the overall structure of the 2026 national budget, alleging that large allocations for infrastructure projects, social assistance programs, and unprogrammed appropriations continue to enable political patronage.

On education spending, Bernardo said the P1.35 trillion allocation—equivalent to about 4.4 percent of gross domestic product—remains insufficient to address long-standing gaps in the education system.

“The much-publicized P1.35 trillion allocation for education, supposedly equivalent to 4.4 percent of GDP, is historically symbolic—an indictment of decades of chronic underfunding—but remains structurally inadequate,” she said.

ACT reiterated its call to raise education spending to at least 6 percent of GDP and vowed to continue pressing the administration over budget decisions affecting teachers and government workers.—MCG, GMA Integrated News