After the House of Representatives approved the proposed ₱6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 on its third and final reading last Monday, debates continue to swirl over the inclusion of ₱250 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.
In an interview, Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice said he is considering bringing the issue before the Supreme Court should the Senate adopt the measure and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. sign it into law.
“Kung saka-sakali na ipapasa ito at pipirmahan ng Pangulo na may unprogrammed funds, eh iaakyat ko sa Korte Suprema. Maganda ‘yon para ma-defined ng Korte Suprema ‘yung demarcation between what is legislative and what is executive function,” Erice said.
The lawmaker argued that Congress can pass the General Appropriations Act (GAA) even without unprogrammed funds, since the core of the budget—the programmed appropriations—has already been reviewed and has a clear funding source.
Malacañang earlier rejected proposals to remove the unprogrammed appropriations, asserting that such funds are used for government programs, particularly during emergencies. The House of Representatives also junked the proposal of Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno last Friday, October 10, which sought to scrap the UA entirely.
Erice, however, countered this reasoning, saying the government already has sufficient emergency resources.
“Kung emergency naman, meron naman tayong disaster fund di ba? 5%. Tapos ‘yung president naman, may social fund. Marami namang mga ahensya na may pondo… Hindi naman pwedeng gano’n kalalaki ‘yong pang-emergency,” he explained.
The issue over unprogrammed appropriations is expected to intensify once the proposed budget reaches the Senate, where several lawmakers have also raised transparency and accountability concerns.