BAYAN SAYS BICAM DELAY IS RELATED TO THE SQUABBLE OVER PORK BARREL

BAYAN SAYS BICAM DELAY IS RELATED TO THE SQUABBLE OVER PORK BARREL

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan expresses disgust over the reported delay in the Bicameral proceedings for the 2026 budget bill and attributes it to the shameful squabbling of legislators over who gets the biggest cut in the pork barrel allocation.

The Senate-approved budget has 146 billion pesos in pork barrel funds compared to the 260 billion pesos proposed by the House. They also have different versions for SAGIP, unprogrammed appropriations, and other “infrastructure at risk” projects. Both Houses also raised their own budget—an increase of 10 billion pesos in the House and 1 billion pesos in the Senate.

Despite the people’s outrage over the large-scale corruption linked to pork barrel projects, legislators continue to indulge in the corrupt practice of embedding the budget bill with dubious insertions and allocables. Instead of realigning these funds to social services, Congress and Malacanang are colluding to preserve the pork barrel system, entrench political patronage, and divert public demand for accountability.

Suspicious budget amendments could already be happening under closed-door negotiations instead of proceeding with the Bicam and livestreaming the sessions. The delay undermines the call for transparency and exposes the duplicity of the Marcos government.

The 2026 budget is proof that Marcos seeks to maintain, instead of depose, the corrupt system that favors corrupt leaders like him, his cronies, and other political dynasties. Bayan calls for heightened vigilance and protests before, during, and after the Bicam deliberations and the rejection of the budget bill infested with pork barrel programs.