Daven Tamayo

Work is being done on the interiors of the Batasang Pambansa on July 15, 2024, as the House of Representatives prepares for the coming State Of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 22. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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CONGRESS-SONA

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - Two lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives are set to vote against the ratification of the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed 2026 national budget, saying it continues to contain “pork.”</p><p>ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co criticized the bicam-approved funding for unprogrammed appropriations and government programs that supposedly perpetuate “patronage politics.”</p><p>“Sa kabila ng mga pangakong reform budget ito, ay nananatiling intact pa rin ‘yung pork barrel system. ‘Yung sistema ng mga alokasyon sa mga kongresista at maging sa mga senador ay nandyan pa rin, both para sa infrastructure at para sa ayuda,” Tinio said.</p><p>&quot;Nandyan pa rin ang pork barrel system na nakita natin. May translations ito sa education and sa health. Bakit kailangan pang lumapit ng isang nangangailangan ng serbisyong medikal sa isang pulitiko para makakuha ng guarantee letter, when itong pondong ito ay pwedeng iaccommodate sa programs at directly iassign sa isang ospital for example,&quot; Tinio added.</p><p>For her part, Co said: &quot;Bakit kailangan pang lumapit sa mga politiko for scholarships, when pwede naman may UNIFAST (Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education)? Mayroong centralized funds na pwedeng ma-accommodate yung iba’t ibang pangangailangan ng higher education students.&quot;</p><p>Tinio urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the entire unprogrammed appropriations, saying the Constitution does not provide for it, the confidential and intelligence funds, and funding for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/senators-act-teachers-rep-tinio-spar-over-senate-pork-in-budget-bill-1838"><strong>READ: Senators, ACT Teachers Rep. Tinio spar over &#x27;Senate pork&#x27; in budget bill<br/></strong></a></div><p>Akbayan Party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña also expressed concern over the bicam-approved unprogrammed appropriations. In previous budgets, the unprogrammed funds were tapped for certain questionable flood control projects.</p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yong inaasahan natin ng mga problematic items na sana ay tatanggalin, iku-cure, babawasan o tatapyasan pagdating ng bicameral conference, aba either napalampas o nadagdagan pa,&quot; Cendaña said, citing what he called &quot;patronage programs&quot; such as the  Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) and the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) Program.</p><p>ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said she was ready to bring the issue of unprogrammed appropriations to the Supreme Court if necessary.</p><p>&quot;We are dismayed and alarmed by the increased budget for UA (Unprogrammed Appropriations) in the Bicam. We firmly believe this is unconstitutional,&quot; said De Lima, a former justice secretary.</p><p>&quot;We will continue to question the legality of unprogrammed appropriations, even if we must bring the matter before the Supreme Court,&quot; she added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>GREATER TRANSPARENCY</strong></div><p>Lawmakers from the House minority urged both the House and the Senate to be more transparent with the bicam amendments to the budget, by releasing documents that will reflect the adjustments approved during the livestreamed bicam meetings, and the final version of the bicam-approved budget.</p><p>They issued the statement after Senate Committee on Finance Chairperson Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said that the bicam will still have to “reconcile the numbers” in the budget in the next five days, even after the bicam meetings have been completed.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/2026-budget-bicam-extends-to-four-days-as-deadline-looms-0829"><strong>READ: 2026 budget bicam extends to four days as deadline looms<br/></strong></a></div><p>&quot;Hamon ito sa House and Senate, paano maa-assure ang publiko na transparent maging dito sa finalization. So kailangan ilabas nang buo ‘yung mga transcript ng bicam sessions. Tapos mayroong report, summary ng mga napagkaisahan sa bawat session ng bicam para makita natin kung ‘yung napagkaisahan ay reflected doon sa magiging final report,&quot; Tinio said.</p><p>“Since this stage of the process is happening away from public view, we urge both panels to fully disclose what adjustments are being made, and who proposed and approved them.&quot;</p><p>Tinio believed the bicam results are a result of “negotiations” outside the livestreamed bicam meetings.</p><p>Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Mikaela Suansing denied it was a result of House concessions.</p><p>“I wouldn’t say it’s a House concession. We’ve been working together very hard over the past few days to get to a budget that both Houses will be proud of,” Suansing said.</p><p>“We also don’t put in items in the budgets of agencies without the approval of the head of agency and the agency itself,” she added.</p><p>Suansing expressed optimism that the national budget for next year will not be reenacted.</p><p>&quot;We can now confidently say, ngayong tapos na ang bicam, there will be no re-enacted budget,&quot; she said.</p><p>“We just want to give the assurance that the executive has enough time to review,” Suansing added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GTW6MMm8Ifs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br/></div>

<p>Two lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives are set to vote against the ratification of the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed 2026 national budget, saying it continues to contain 'pork.'</p>

Two lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives are set to vote against the ratification of the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed 2026 national budget, saying it continues to contain 'pork.'

House lawmakers slam 'pork,' unprogrammed appropriations in bicam-approved 2026 budget

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House lawmakers slam 'pork,' unprogrammed appropriations in bicam-approved 2026 budget

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 18, 2025 05:13 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 18, 2025 05:30 PM PHT

Read More:

politics

2026 budget

House of Representatives

bicameral conference committee

Makabayan bloc

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