Who benefits? Business groups question billions in 2027 budget insertions

National

WITH billions of pesos in funding shifted away from major infrastructure and essential programs, more than 30 business groups are demanding a review of the proposed 2027 national budget, urging Congress to remove questionable insertions and restore allocations for priority projects.

In a joint statement, the organizations called on Senate and House leaders to eliminate congressional amendments lacking technical justification from the P7.2-trillion spending plan.

“We call on the leaders of both Houses of Congress – Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, House Speaker Faustino Dy III, Senate Finance committee chair Joseph Victor Ejercito and House Appropriations committee chair Mikaela Angela Suansing – to remove from the proposed P7.2 trillion 2027 national budget every congressional insertion that has no technical basis,” their statement wrote.

The groups maintained that projects should only receive funding if supported by feasibility studies or detailed engineering designs and validated as ready for implementation.

Their appeal follows concerns over more than P180 billion in additional Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) allocations introduced during the House budget amendments and review process.

Independent budget watchdogs reported that the additions cover at least 6,000 projects, bringing the DPWH project count in the National Expenditure Program to at least 16,000. Many involve lump-sum allocations for multipurpose buildings, access roads and bypass roads without published project lists or identified proponents.

The groups said the additions would partly be funded through cuts of about P130 billion in foreign-assisted projects (FAP), P9.5 billion in calamity funds, P1.76 billion for the EDSA Busway and P4.9 billion in health programs.

They warned that reduced FAP allocations could delay infrastructure projects backed by feasibility studies, financing commitments and international procurement standards, undermining efforts to attract investments and reduce logistics costs. They also opposed diverting disaster funds in a country vulnerable to calamities.

The organizations urged Congress to disclose every budget amendment, including its location, cost, funding source, justification and sponsoring legislator. They also opposed provisions allowing agencies to replace projects after enactment and called for the bicameral conference committee to introduce no new items.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian said lawmakers were working to avoid a reenacted budget, which he warned could hamper infrastructure spending amid sluggish economic growth.

“We cannot afford a reenacted budget,” he said in a Philstar report, adding that the Senate was studying the restoration of funding for foreign-assisted transportation projects and the EDSA Busway.

Malacañang, meanwhile, described as premature allegations surrounding a proposed P4-billion public works allocation for Ilocos Norte’s first district, represented by House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos. Palace press officer Claire Castro said the budget process was not yet complete and that proposed allocations did not automatically mean funds would be misused.

Separately, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong alleged that some politicians receive commissions from infrastructure projects.

“Look at the political capital of politicians. Assistance is one. The projects, especially those where they have a cut of around 20 percent to 30 percent,” he said in the same article.(MyTVCebu)