Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday, January 6, dismissed claims that the 2026 national budget is the “cleanest,” calling it instead “certainly the sneakiest.”
In a television interview, Marcos explained why she refused to sign the measure, describing it as a “giniling” or ground-up pork barrel.
“Kumbaga, yung pork tinadtad-tadtad, pinarte-parte at binaha-bahagi, pero kahit giniling pa yan, ang pork baboy pa rin,” she said, adding that the budget remains “very fatty.”
Her remarks countered Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who earlier praised the ₱6.8-trillion budget as the cleanest ever.
Marcos pointed to sidelined foreign-assisted infrastructure projects, including the Metro Manila Subway and North–South Commuter Railway, as signs of misplaced priorities.
She also flagged stalled flood-control projects under the DPWH and uncertainty over the Cavite-to-Bataan bridge, noting the country continues to pay commitment fees despite little progress.
Marcos criticized expanded allocations for Farm-to-Market Roads and ballooning social assistance programs like AICS and TUPAD, questioning whether these were being used appropriately.
She expressed concern that medical aid remains politically distributed instead of directly funding hospitals.
“Ang Pilipino ba, kailangan lumuhod sa politiko para magamot, para makapasok sa ospital, para makalabas ng ospital?” she asked.
On President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s veto of ₱92.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations, she clarified: “In truth and in fact, the unprogrammed funds are not a part of the ₱6.8 trillion budget,” stressing that the veto only affected contingent items, not regular funded programs.