By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet

With the 2026 national budget signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday, Malacañang pointed out the various safeguards put in place by the lawmakers that drafted the government’s financial backbone for the whole year.

A product of the President’s thorough review of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), these measures are part of his pledge to regain public confidence and institutional trust on the heels of the fallout arising from the revelation of ‘ghost’ and anomalous flood control projects in 2025.

At the Palace press briefing shortly after the ceremonious signing of Republic Act No. 12314, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto expounded a clause that restricts politicians from having a hand in the dissemination of financial aid to their constituents.

This provision, entitled “Prohibition on Political Involvement in the Distribution of Cash and Other Forms of Financial Assistance,” was hailed by Recto as the first of its kind in the national budget, which ensures that beneficiaries enrolled under government programs will receive cash grants accordingly.

“Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, there is a special provision in the budget, or a general provision in the budget, na bawal ang pulitiko during the actual disbursement. It’s the first time we’ve had this kind of provision [in the] General Appropriations Act. So subukan natin muna.”

The implementation of this prohibition covers various aid initiatives, such as the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Recto: 2026 national budget ‘pork-barrel free’

At the same briefing, Recto debunked claims from lawmakers that the 2026 GAA still contains so-called “soft pork,” hinting at pork barrel provisions within the newly enacted budget. 

He told the media, “Sa tingin namin, pork barrel-free dahil hindi naman puwedeng makialam ang legislative pagdating ng executing the budget at purely executive function na iyan pagdating ng execution of the budget.”

This, in response to comparisons drawn between the 2026 budget and previous national budgets that came under fire for irregularities and ‘backdoors’ that facilitated the creation of loopholes to exploit weaknesses in the government’s coffers.

Recto concluded his remarks by reiterating the President’s firm stance against unnecessary expenditures embedded in unprogrammed appropriations (UA), with support to foreign-assisted projects, the Revised AFP Modernization Program, and the Risk Management Program serving as the only UA items retained for 2026.

President Marcos Jr. earlier said, hailing the UA as the lowest in a national budget since 2019, “Let me be clear: the Unprogrammed Appropriations are not blank checks. We will not allow the Unprogrammed Appropriations to be misused or treated as a backdoor for discretionary spending.”

The Chief Executive declared, “We will make releases charged from the UA transparent, providing the necessary details on the funding source and the corresponding purpose.”

av