By Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will not tolerate questionable “insertions” in the proposed 2026 national budget, Malacañang said Monday, stressing that funds must go only to legitimate projects, and not to repeat allocations for already completed works.
This, as lawmakers laid bare the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), included budget allocations for projects already completed.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a media briefing, “Hindi po ito papayagan ng Pangulo. Nadinig po natin, galit na po ang Pangulo at ayaw po niya na may isinisingit pa sa budget; dahil ang budget na ‘to ay para sa taumbayan at para sa [mga] proyekto para sa bayan.”
Castro said lawmakers should first coordinate with agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to verify whether a project flagged in the budget is truly finished or still ongoing in another location.
Marcos earlier lamented that there are still “insertions” in the proposed 2026 budget, “Unfortunately, the more we look, the more we find. Kahit sa 2026 budget, marami pa ring siningit. So talagang—it really needs to be cleaned out properly.”
The President made the statement, underscoring the creation of an independent commission to investigate the alleged anomalies in the DPWH.
The agency has been reeling from allegations of anomalous multibillion-peso flood control projects, which prompted the resignation of former secretary Manuel Bonoan and the appointment of Vince Dizon as his replacement.
Dizon’s first act as DPWH chief was to order the courtesy resignation of all top officials nationwide, as part of a “clean sweep” ordered by Marcos to purge corruption and ghost projects in the agency.
Protect DepEd budget
At the Senate, Senator Panfilo Lacson called for the protection of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget, stressing that it should not be overshadowed by other agencies, particularly DPWH.
Lacson recalled that in last year’s budget, DPWH received a bigger allocation than the education sector, despite constitutional provisions that mandate education as the government’s top budgetary priority.
The lawmaker said during a briefing with the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), “Why did we allow DPWH to get a bigger budget than education? DBM ended up justifying the congressional miracle that slashed the education sector’s funds.”
For 2025, DPWH was allotted P1.007 trillion, overtaking the P977.6 billion allocated to DepEd, State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). (With report from Leonel Abasola/PNA)
