Watchdogs question transparency in House OK of 2027 budget bill

MANILA, Philippines — As the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading the P7.2-trillion proposed national budget for 2027 on Monday, budget watchdogs called out the chamber for failing to practice transparency at a time when public trust in the approval process remains low because of the multibillion-peso flood control scam.

According to the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) and Roundtable for Inclusive Development (RID), the House’s handling of the 2027 budget bill followed a familiar pattern of opacity despite the controversy.

“As the House crafts its version of the national budget, we find ourselves confronting a familiar darkness: closed doors, sidelined citizens and decisions over public funds made without the meaningful participation of the people who will pay for them,” the groups said in a joint statement.

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“Instead of cleaning up this year’s budget, it got even dirtier,” they added.

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READ: Lawmaker flags P180-B pork in 2027 budget

A total of 282 lawmakers voted in favor of House Bill No. 10858. There were 13 opposed and one abstention.

The PBC and RID’s observations came amid mounting criticism of how the House handled the budget review after civil society was initially excluded during the first week of the process.

Last year, the chamber enacted sweeping reforms in response to public outcry toward “congressional insertions” in the budget bill. These included abolishing a “small committee” of select lawmakers tasked with finalizing the House version behind closed doors, a process that involved late-stage revisions.

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The groups, said, however, that the House “has once again inserted billions of pesos into programs that perpetuate political patronage,” citing the following:

• P24.8 billion for the cash assistance program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for individuals in crisis;

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• P24 billion for the financial assistance program of the Department of Health for indigent patients;

• P10 billion for assistance to farmers and fisherfolk of the Department of Agriculture; and

• P4.7 billion for the jobs program of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Lawmakers also “doubled local infrastructure programs in the Department of Public Works and Highways without publicly verifiable programs of work or attachments,” the PBC and RID said.

Realignment

Much of their criticism is based on how the House modified the spending measure, after a select committee of ranking lawmakers reported realigning P116.32 billion within the budget bill. Independent calculations by the PBC estimated that the total legislative amendments reached P198.9 billion.

In addition, the House likely inserted 5,804 new infrastructure projects amounting to P162 billion in the proposed 2027 budget, as it deleted 1,068 projects worth P68 billion and decreased funding for 206 projects by a cumulative P87 billion, according to PBC.

“Compared to the NEP (National Expenditure Program) which had 11,420 projects worth P573 billion, the House third reading version has 16,275 total allocations worth P587 billion,” the group said.

Both PBC and RID also flagged around P1.6 trillion worth of “red-flag” line items or allocations that are prone to abuse and perpetuate patronage politics.

“For every P100 in the national budget, more than P15 goes to cash aid and questionable allocations,” the groups said, citing a few examples, like the P210 billion in aid and discretionary funds, P695 billion in infrastructure, P43 billion for political offices and P112 billion in standby unprogrammed funds.

Appeal to Senate

They urged the Senate, particularly Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, who heads the finance committee, to scrutinize the House version.

“We call on you to exercise your power of scrutiny: hold the House accountable for every amendment, restore funding for the people’s priorities that were cut or neglected, and reject any amendment that comes without a clear, complete, and publicly accessible report,” they said.

They also urged President Marcos to “veto amendments that cannot withstand public scrutiny.”

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The House spending bill now heads to the Senate for review. Members of both chambers are expected to meet later this year to reconcile their versions before the final draft is sent to Malacañang for approval. /cb