Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Egay Erice and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Representative Leila de Lima on Wednesday said they would file a petition before the Supreme Court questioning the legality of unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 national budget.
In a media advisory, the lawmakers said the petition to be filed on Thursday would assail the inclusion of unprogrammed funds in the 2026 General Appropriations Act, citing alleged violations of constitutional principles on public finance, budget accountability and Congress’ power of the purse.
They argued that allocating standby funds “undermines transparency, fiscal discipline, and the Constitution’s safeguards against discretionary spending without clear revenue sources.”
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier vetoed ₱92.5 billion worth of items under the unprogrammed appropriations, leaving around ₱150 billion intact in the 2026 budget.
De Lima said trimming the amount was beside the point.
“It is still ‘shadow pork.’ As succinctly pointed out in the separate concurring and dissenting opinion of (Associate) Justice (Ramon) Hernando in the PhilHealth case, unprogrammed appropriations are unconstitutional,” she said.
“They lack definite and identifiable revenue sources, bypass constitutional safeguards, and surrender congressional power of the purse to executive discretion,” she added, noting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto’s statement that excess government revenues were unlikely.
De Lima said that if excess collections materialize, the executive branch should instead seek congressional approval through a supplemental budget to fund additional projects.