Watchdogs flag pork-riddled 2027 budget

National

OVER P1 trillion of the 2027 spending plan remains open to political patronage, with more than two-thirds of the amount, P695 billion, is in infrastructure, the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) said.

During a hearing by the Senate finance panel on Monday, Oct. 26, PBC said 6,200 public works projects worth P172 billion that the House reportedly inserted without publishing supporting documents.

“Ang worry po namin, hindi pa rin po natututo o nahihiya ang Kamara sa kabila ng lahat ng pagma-march at rally namin. Sa kabila ng sigaw ng taong bayan, hindi pa rin natauhan,” Ken Abante, a co-convenor of the group, said in a Philstar report.

The group said that by default, projects without supporting documents should be struck down by the Senate or vetoed by the president.

"Sa budget na pinaghirapang buwis ng taong bayan bawal magka-typo," Abante said.

It's the second straight year the Senate finance committee set aside a hearing for civil society groups on the national budget. The practice started in Oct. 2025 when Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian chaired the panel.

Groups told senators the 2027 budget still favors pork-type allocations over basic services. They said the House version of the General Appropriations Bill includes deep cuts to health, education and agriculture, while prioritizing aid programs that require referral letters from lawmakers.(MyTVCebu)