Bagong Alyansang Makabayan condemned the railroading of the budget of the Office of the President, which highlights the malicious collusion of Malacañang and Congress in embedding pork barrel and other anomalous items in the 2027 General Appropriations Bill.
Almost half of the president’s budget is allotted for confidential and intelligence funds. This alone should warrant scrutiny from House members amid the continuing clamor for transparency and accountability over the use of this controversial lump sum item in the national budget.
Two days ago, the barbed wires and overkill deployment of police around the Malacañang Palace reminded the public about the repressive measures used during the martial law era to undermine protests. Today, the hasty approval of the president’s budget is reminiscent of the Marcos dictatorship, which reduced Congress to a mere rubber-stamp institution.
The 2027 budget bill is clear proof that the government’s anti-corruption drive is fraudulent. More than 107 billion pesos were designated for flood control projects despite the unresolved irregularities involving infrastructure projects across the country. Pork barrel is retained in the bill, which exposes the continued reliance on political patronage to consolidate the control of political dynasties. Top priority is given to debt servicing by a government that has accelerated contracting loans to boost spending for projects that are ridden with graft and corruption as well as for wasteful and indulgent expenditures.
This is in stark contrast to the grossly inadequate subsidies given to the agriculture sector, schools, and hospitals. The health budget was slashed by around 21 percent. Public schools and universities continue to suffer from dilapidated facilities. Government personnel are denied decent salaries and proper benefits.
Meanwhile, the government sustained the programs of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which signals the intensification of militarization of communities and more violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, victimizing civilians, activists, and ordinary citizens critical of government policies and programs.
Bayan calls for the rejection of the pork barrel system, the realignment of confidential funds to social services, the repeal of the automatic appropriation for debt servicing, and the abolition of the NTF-ELCAC. Marcos Jr. should face accountability for the budget insertions, bloated unprogrammed appropriations, and his role in the rollout of corruption-tainted flood control projects.
It is not enough to file cases against those implicated in the flood control scam; we should make sure that Marcos and his allies are not given new opportunities to legitimize the kickbacks they are getting from pork barrel projects.
Bayan calls for vigilance during the budget deliberations and for more protests denouncing the rampant corruption under the US-backed Marcos government.