By Shan Kenshin Ecaldre 
Bulatlat.com

CABUYAO, Laguna — Progressive lawmakers under the Makabayan bloc condemned the House of Representatives’ approval of the proposed P6.3 trillion 2026 national budget, saying it preserves the same pork barrel system that is at the core of massive corruption that has robbed public coffers for years.

In a joint statement, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co, and Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Elago said the newly passed General Appropriations Bill (GAB) is nothing more than a “continuation of plunder disguised as reform.”

“This budget is a brazen continuation of the corrupt pork barrel system that has plundered billions of pesos from the Filipino people through more than 9,000 flood control projects from 2022 to the present,” the bloc said.

The 2026 national budget was approved on its third and final reading at the House of Representatives on Oct. 13, Monday.

The 2026 budget, they pointed out, still contains at least P695.78 billion in what they call presidential and congressional pork, despite an ongoing trillion-peso corruption scandal involving infrastructure projects.

Pork in new forms

According to the bloc, the so-called “reform budget” retains P281 billion in presidential pork barrel, including P243 billion in Unprogrammed Appropriations, which ballooned under the Marcos administration and became a source of ghost and overpriced projects.

They also flagged P10.9 billion in Confidential and Intelligence Funds (CIFs), P4.5 billion of which remain under the Office of the President, and P8.08 billion allocated to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) through its Barangay Development Fund.

“The President cannot escape command responsibility. Every ghost project, every overpriced contract was approved under his watch,” they wrote in a statement, adding that the administration’s anti-corruption rhetoric “rings hollow” while the same system persists.

Legislative pork still alive 

Makabayan also revealed that at least P415 billion in legislative pork remains embedded in the budget, funds distributed through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other agencies.

These include P174.6 billion in “allocables” for congressional districts, P32.6 billion for farm-to-market roads, P35.1 billion for school buildings, and P20.2 billion for health facilities, all allegedly subject to legislators’ discretion.

They also criticized P130.4 billion in “ayuda” or assistance funds used to “build political machinery” among constituents struggling with poverty.

“Any project that involves nomination by lawmakers is already presumed tainted with corruption,” the statement read. “This is not reform. This is the consolidation of a corrupt system that enriches the political elite while millions of Filipinos suffer.”

‘Pork feast for the powerful’ 

Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago, in explaining her “no” vote, said the administration merely reshuffled pork funds under new names.

“Before us is a pork feast for the powerful and scraps for the people. Kahit anong palit ng pangalan o porma, pork is pork,” Elago said. “No matter how you plate it, it still stinks of corruption.”

House approval

The House approved the P6.3-trillion spending plan on third and final reading, with 287 lawmakers voting in favor, 12 against, and two abstaining.

Those who opposed the measure include Tinio, Co, Elago, Kaka Bag-ao, Perci Cendaña, Chel Diokno, Leila de Lima, Egay Erice, Krisel Lagman, Dadah Ismula, Leandro Leviste, and Paolo Marcoleta.

Makabayan vowed to continue pushing for the abolition of the pork barrel system, the elimination of unprogrammed appropriations, and the prosecution of all officials involved in what they described as “trillion-peso plunder.”

“We call on the Filipino people to reject this sham reform and demand genuine accountability,” the bloc said. (RTS)