Civil society wants President to veto risky portions of 2026 budget

Insider Spotlight

• Church and civil society groups flagged over P633 billion in the 2026 budget as vulnerable to patronage and corruption
• The coalition urged the President to veto unprogrammed appropriations and impose tighter rules on ayuda and infrastructure spending
• Groups praised cuts to public works and reforms but warned risks remain at the bicam stage

 A broad coalition of church leaders, business figures, academics, and civil society groups has urged President Marcos to veto and conditionally implement large portions of the 2026 national budget, warning that more than P633 billion worth of line items remain vulnerable to corruption and political patronage.

In a joint letter dated Dec. 29, 2025, the Roundtable for Inclusive Development and the People’s Budget Coalition — whose leaders include business leader Ramon del Rosario Jr. and Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David — acknowledged improvements made during congressional deliberations but said risks intensified during the bicameral conference process.

Why it matters

The groups framed the budget debate as a governance issue that could either rebuild or further erode public trust, particularly after controversies involving flood control and public works spending.

What they’re saying

“If our nation is a body, then corruption is a cancer that has spread to every part,” the group said, calling for decisive executive action to prevent further damage.

The coalition credited Congress and the executive for increasing education and agriculture budgets to more than a trillion pesos, restoring funding for Project NOAH, and cutting public works allocations under new leadership at the Department of Public Works and Highways.

They also praised Senate Finance Committee chair Sherwin Gatchalian for leading efforts that reduced the risk of repeat and overpriced DPWH projects by about P110 billion.

Break it down

The groups categorized budget risks into three types:

• Shadow pork — They urged the President to veto P243 billion in unprogrammed appropriations, arguing these funds sit outside the regular budget framework and can be released with minimal transparency.
• Soft pork — The coalition flagged more than P210 billion in cash assistance, subsidies, and confidential and intelligence funds, warning these programs are vulnerable to discretionary, politician-mediated distribution. They called for an executive order to convert ayuda programs into rights-based and rules-based mechanisms, and to strictly limit confidential and intelligence funds to legitimate security uses.
• Hard pork — For infrastructure, the groups proposed citizen monitoring of more than P600 billion in projects, with special focus on P180 billion worth of projects initially identified as potentially repeated or overpriced.

What’s next

Beyond the 2026 budget, the coalition renewed calls for systemic reforms, including an open budget transparency server, early multisectoral review of the 2027 budget, and certification as urgent of long-pending transparency and political reform bills.

Bottom line

The letter positions the President’s final budget decisions as a test of his administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and curbing patronage ahead of the next budget cycle.

— Edited by Daxim L. Lucas