Senator Erwin Tulfo on Thursday expressed concern over the inclusion of billions of pesos in unprogrammed appropriations (UAs) in the 2026 national budget, an issue now challenged before the Supreme Court.
“Kaya nga nagkaroon ng ‘di ba, ilang araw na hindi nag-meet ang bicam; ilang oras naantala dahil pinag-uusapan, nagkakaroon ng haggle, kasi they’re saying sa Congress na kailangan ito,” Tulfo said during the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.
“I was telling our chairman na wala nga tayong pondo diyan, Chair, bakit natin papayagan iyan,” he added, referring to Senator Win Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.
Tulfo, a member of the bicameral conference committee that finalized the ₱6.793-trillion budget, said he signed the report “with a heavy heart” due to the large UAs. The bicam adopted the House version, allocating ₱243 billion in UAs—more than three times the Senate’s ₱68.77 billion proposal.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. later vetoed ₱92.5 billion, leaving ₱150.9 billion in the enacted 2026 budget.
On Thursday, lawmakers Egay Erice and Leila de Lima filed a Supreme Court petition to declare the UAs unconstitutional. Tulfo voiced support for the petition, questioning the government’s reliance on new revenues or loans to fund unprogrammed projects amid a persistent budget deficit.
He also warned that UAs are prone to corruption, citing reports by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism on anomalous flood control projects funded through such allocations.
“Let’s do away with the unprogrammed. Let’s stop this,” Tulfo said, adding he will oppose UAs in the 2027 budget, except for foreign-assisted projects.