By Pexcel John Bacon and Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel
THE proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 should face tighter scrutiny over unprogrammed appropriations and confidential and intelligence funds as the Philippines’ limited fiscal space increases the need for stronger safeguards and transparency, analysts said.
The proposed budget includes P111.98 billion in unprogrammed appropriations and P10.77 billion in confidential and intelligence funds, according to the Department of Budget and Management.
Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said unprogrammed appropriations are not inherently problematic because they give the government flexibility to respond to contingencies or finance priority projects when additional revenues or financing become available.
Congress should nevertheless examine the projects placed under the category, the conditions for their release and whether the expenditures could have been anticipated and included in the regular budget, he said.
“At P111.98 billion, the amount itself should not be judged in isolation,” Mr. Tapia said via Facebook Messenger. He said lawmakers should instead examine the purpose of each allocation, the triggers for its release and safeguards against using unprogrammed appropriations as a less transparent spending mechanism.
The proposed unprogrammed appropriations are 25.8% lower than the P150.9 billion allocated in the 2026 budget, a reduction that Dennis C. Coronacion, head of the political science department at the University of Santo Tomas, said points to tighter fiscal discipline.
“This sharp reduction represents a shift toward strict fiscal discipline rather than an over-reliance on discretionary buffers,” he told BusinessWorld in a Messenger chat.
He said the lower allocation could help reduce transparency concerns and the risk of anomalies while retaining flexibility for critical foreign-assisted projects.
CONFIDENTIAL FUNDSConfidential and intelligence funds should likewise be assessed based on the mandates and security requirements of the agencies receiving them, analysts said.
Mr. Tapia said Congress should review historical use, demonstrated need, possible duplication among agencies and whether the same objectives could be financed through regular appropriations that are subject to greater public scrutiny.
“The more important question is whether the allocations are proportionate to the actual mandates and security requirements of the agency receiving them,” he said.
“Secrecy may be necessary for operations, but it should never become secrecy in accountability,” he added.
Mr. Coronacion said lawmakers should focus not only on the total allocation but also on which agencies receive the funds and how their use is audited.
“More importantly, Congress should bar civilian agencies whose mandates are not aligned with national security from receiving these funds,” he said.
Eric Daniel C. de Torres, a political science professor at the University of the East, questioned the continued allocation of confidential funds amid limited fiscal space.
“Have we learned nothing?” Mr. de Torres asked in Filipino, adding that the funds could instead support programs that directly benefit the public.
He said Congress could develop a more viable mechanism for managing confidential funds, particularly as their use has come under greater scrutiny in connection with the impeachment case against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
TRANSPARENCY BEYOND HEARINGSThe analysts said greater transparency should cover the entire budget cycle rather than focus only on congressional hearings.
Mr. Tapia said livestreaming proceedings allows the public to see what lawmakers discuss but does not necessarily show how allocations are proposed, amended, approved, released and eventually spent.
The public should be able to track the rationale for significant increases or realignments as well as the implementation and use of appropriations, he said.
Mr. de Torres said representatives of different sectors and stakeholder groups should participate in budget deliberations and provide input on agency spending proposals.
Senate President Sherwin T. Gatchalian on Sunday said the Senate would make the 2027 budget process transparent and accountability-driven as lawmakers prepare to review the P7.2-trillion National Expenditure Program.
“Our goal is simple, and that is to ensure that every peso counts with the help of mechanisms for transparency and accountability,” he said in a statement.
He said the Senate would add safeguards to reforms implemented during the 2026 budget deliberations.
Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito, who heads the Finance committee, has also pledged a transparent review and said last-minute budget insertions would not be allowed.
Mr. Ejercito earlier said “secret” bicameral sessions would not be permitted during deliberations on the 2027 budget.
“We will make all hearings open to the public, up to the bicameral conference committee stage,” he said in Filipino. “The bicam should not be a backdoor for insertions for the budget that has already undergone rigorous deliberation in the Senate and the House.”
The commitment follows testimony by former Public Works Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan alleging that the Department of Public Works and Highways coordinated with then-Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri on lawmakers’ allocables, or a so-called leadership fund, in 2024.
Mr. Zubiri has denied coordinating such budget insertions.
Mr. Ejercito said the Senate would continue transparency measures used during the previous budget cycle, including the Budget Transparency Portal, livestreaming of bicameral discussions and public hearings involving civil society organizations.
Senator Francis Pancratius N. Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, separately called for stronger safeguards against corruption and overpriced projects while urging adequate funding for agriculture and food security.
“Government spending must translate into concrete improvements in the daily lives of Filipinos,” he said in a statement, citing higher incomes for farmers and fisherfolk, lower food prices, better access to nutritious food, decent jobs and quality education.
The proposed 2027 budget will undergo congressional deliberations before it is enacted.