MANILA, Philippines — The proposed 2026 nationwide finances will now not carry new allocations for flood management tasks, President Marcos mentioned, noting that P350 billion within the 2025 appropriations remained unspent.
In a podcast interview aired on 24 Oras yesterday, Marcos mentioned the Division of Funds and Administration and the Division of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) would undergo Congress the revised finances proposal for 2026.
He mentioned flood management tasks would proceed however could be intently monitored to make sure correct completion and high quality.
ODA-funded tasks delayed
Flagship infrastructure tasks funded by official improvement help (ODA) underneath President Marcos are going through pricey delays, after Congress-approved realignments diverted cash elsewhere – together with to alleged “ghost” flood management tasks – leaving the federal government to pay mounting charges to international lenders.
Funds Secretary Amenah Pangandaman instructed the Senate Blue Ribbon committee yesterday underfunding slowed down the implementation of foreign-assisted tasks and triggered the cost of dedication charges.
“To start with, the implementation of international assisted tasks will likely be sluggish. Second, we’re paying dedication charges to collectors,” Pangandaman mentioned in Filipino, when questioned by Blue Ribbon chair Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.
Marcoleta warned that failure to fulfill funding necessities dangers damaging the Philippines’ credibility with multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“They may generate dedication charges, proper? … after which you’ll even bitter your relations, bilateral, multilateral, no matter?” he requested.
Pangandaman replied, “That’s right.”
The finances chief confirmed that the Division of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Division of Transportation (DOTr) – companies with the most important foreign-assisted tasks – bear accountability for guaranteeing that ODA loans are absolutely supported.
With out enough programmed funds, she mentioned the Division of Funds and Administration (DBM) can’t problem a ahead obligation authority or a certificates to guarantee collectors that the tasks will push by way of.
Sen. JV Ejercito pressed Pangandaman on whether or not the misalignment had already induced precise setbacks.
“Will there be a default or delay? As a result of this won’t paint an excellent image of us to our collectors… Have there been delays?” Ejercito requested in Filipino.
Pangandaman admitted, “Sure, there’s a delay within the implementation of the tasks. The dedication expenses we’ve been paying have ballooned.”
She defined that every delay results in a number of extensions, driving up the ultimate value of the tasks, as inputs grow to be dearer over time.
“The tasks are getting dearer as a result of, as we go additional, the issues they use for the tasks are getting dearer,” she mentioned.
Blacklist
Extra contractors implicated in questionable flood management tasks are set to be stripped of their membership from the Philippine Authorities Digital Procurement System (PhilGEPS), the DBM mentioned.
It mentioned that its Procurement Service (PS) is on “excessive alert” to cancel memberships of SYMS Constructions Buying and selling and Wawao Builders, as soon as the DPWH arms down the official blacklisting order. Pangandaman mentioned the PS-DBM is able to cancel different corporations from PhilGEPS, to allow them to now not take part within the administration’s procurement actions.
Final Friday, PS-DBM formally revoked the PhilGEPS membership of 9 corporations related to Sarah Discaya.
2025 finances
DBM reported that it has launched nearly all the appropriated finances for this 12 months, with solely P285.3 billion remaining to be disbursed to authorities companies.
Newest knowledge from the finances division confirmed that it has disbursed P6.04 trillion from January to August, which is equal to 95.5 % of the full P6.33-trillion finances for the complete 12 months.
As compared, 96.9 % of final 12 months’s finances had been launched by the eight-month interval, indicating a decrease launch stage this 12 months.
Information confirmed that the DBM launched P3.9 trillion underneath the 2025 Basic Appropriations Act (GAA), or 93.2 % of the full P4.22 trillion financing.
For departments, the finances company mentioned it has disbursed P3.53 trillion or almost 96 % underneath the GAA. Nonetheless, P152.56 billion stays for line departments.
Releases for particular objective funds, alternatively, amounted to almost 75 % of their complete allotment at P394.86 billion.
Budgetary help to authorities companies obtained P122.7 billion at 96.3 %, whereas allocation for native authorities models is at P51.64 billion or 65.1 %.
The revised Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program obtained P25.1 billion at almost 72 % of its programmed allocation.
In the meantime, computerized appropriations are at P1.9 trillion or 90 % of the P2.11-trillion complete funding.
Divided into segments, the DBM has launched all the programmed finances for retirement and life insurance coverage premiums, nationwide tax allotment for presidency companies, block grants, pensions of former presidents or their widows and tax expenditures funds or customs duties and taxes.
At 75 %, web lending is at P21 billion, whereas curiosity funds are at P636 billion.
Officers have mentioned the evaluate of the P880-billion DPWH finances underneath Marcos’ proposed spending program was meant to take away insertions and different questionable objects and make sure that state funds are used for tasks that actually profit the general public.
Funds hearings
In the meantime, enterprise group Makati Enterprise Membership (MBC), which will likely be enjoying an energetic position within the 2026 finances preparations, has vowed to advertise transparency and accountability and guarantee public funds are used for the advantage of Filipinos.
In an announcement yesterday, the MBC mentioned it has been accredited as one of many bona fide civil society organizations that may sit as observers and energetic individuals within the upcoming finances deliberations by way of Home Decision 94.
“We welcome this recognition as a chance to observe, query and make sure that the 2026 Basic Appropriations Act will likely be crafted to serve its objective that are in the very best curiosity and wishes of the Filipino folks,” the MBC mentioned.
The group mentioned it stays dedicated to pushing for transparency and accountability within the crafting of the 2026 Basic Appropriations Act. — Neil Jayson Servallos, Marco Luis Beech, Alexis Romero, Louella Desiderio
