In this article, Bulatlat fact-checks the claims of the House of Representatives that the approved P6.793-trillion (approximately US$114.98 billion) national budget for 2026 —the biggest budget measure in the country’s history so far—contains no pork barrel fund.

The reality: Pork barrel is still alive and well in the 2026 budget through congressional “allocables” for infrastructure, party-list allocations, and presidential pork under the unprogrammed appropriations (UA) and confidential and intelligence fund (CIF).

Claim 1: There is no pork barrel in the budget.

During a press conference last October 20, Committee on Appropriations Chairperson and Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Angela “Mika” Suansing assured the public that there is no pork barrel fund in the 2026 budget.

This is “patently false.”

According to the Makabayan bloc, today’s system of district allocations achieves the same result as the old Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) system, which enables lawmakers to nominate projects, influence biddings, choose contractors, and receive kickbacks.

Meanwhile, the Office of the President proposed a total of ?10.7 billion in CIF, with P4.386 billion in confidential funds and P6.398 billion in intelligence funds.

In the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Office of the President will receive the highest CIF allocation at P4.5 billion, followed by the Department of National Defense with P1.848 billion.

The ACT Teachers Party-list has expressed opposition to and concerns about these confidential funds, demanding the abolition of the proposed CIF. The partylist asserted that Marcos Jr’s CIF is “no different from the controversial CIF once wielded by Vice President Sara Duterte.”

“Marcos may have denied Sara her confidential funds, but he has secured billions for himself under the same corrupt, unaccountable scheme. Whether in Duterte’s hands or Marcos’s, CIFs serve as personal war chests for political patronage and repression, leaving public services to survive on crumbs,” stated Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Chairperson Vladimer Quetua.

Claim 2: There is no pork in Unprogrammed Appropriations

Suansing also said that the ?243 billion UA is not “lump sum appropriations,” another characteristic of pork barrel funds, claiming that all budget items are stated in full detail.

“There are no hidden funds and there are no hidden programs,” she added, saying that UAs will instead be spent on social programs.

This is also false.

Special Provision No. 10 allows the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) broad authority to realign funds within the UA.

“While House leadership removed explicit infrastructure items, Special Provision No. 10 allows Malacañang to funnel money into infrastructure anyway,” said Makabayan.

Makabayan also noted that out of the P45 billion budget allocated for social programs, P4.9 billion falls under Capital Outlay, which—at the president’s discretion—can fund infrastructure projects.

According to the DBM, unprogrammed appropriations are portions of the national budget that can be spent if additional revenues are generated or new financing sources become available, such as exceeding revenue targets or securing new loans.

Essentially, the UAs act as standby funds for priority programs and projects not immediately funded by the “programmed” part of the budget.

Makabayan further stressed that the current track record of this allocation proves how it has been abused.

Based on official DBM data, ACT Teachers Representative and Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio exposed that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received P61.4 billion in unprogrammed appropriations in 2023 for 1,889 projects. The following year, the department received a staggering P153 billion in 2024 for 1,811 projects.

A total of 3,700 projects worth P214.4 billion were funded over two fiscal years. These included flood control projects, as well as the construction of roads and multipurpose buildings.

“UA is a Marcos dictatorship relic giving the President unchecked discretion. It’s unconstitutional. The Constitution provides for supplemental appropriations bills—a transparent process through Congress, not a presidential blank check,” added Makabayan.

Claim 3: The budget prioritizes agriculture, education, and health

The Lower House also claims that the 2026 national budget remains “people-centered,” as it realigns DPWH’s P255.5 billion flood control budget to the country’s three key priority sectors—education, health, and agriculture.

However, the resubmitted DPWH budget still retains various potential pet projects for lawmakers in the form of multipurpose buildings, roads, and bridges, which can be found under the DPWH District Engineering Offices’ allocations amounting to P174 billion.

According to Makabayan’s calculations, there are at least P230 million per congressman and P3.2 billion per senator in “allocables” in the 2026 budget.

There is also P5.7 billion allocated for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), which was initially intended for constructing, rehabilitating, and upgrading primary health facilities. However, as of mid-October 2025, the Department of Health reported that 300 out of 878 funded Super Health Centers were not operational despite being declared complete or partially complete.

Allegations include mismanagement and funding delays, but Makabayan maintains that it is a project plagued with corruption.

There is also P24.966 billion allocated for the social assistance program Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP), which Makabayan calls “soft pork,” where legislators exercise patronage instead of ensuring free health services for all.

Aside from that, the budget retains the corruption-prone farm-to-market roads program of the Department of Agriculture amounting to P32.6 billion, which has raised concerns over significant overpricing—by as much as 70 percent.

Lastly, the restoration of PhilHealth’s P60 billion merely returns what was illegally transferred to the national treasury.

Claim 4: Unprogrammed Appropriations decreased in 2026

The claim that Unprogrammed Appropriations decreased in the proposed 2026 budget is misleading.

In 2025, the initial NEP figure of P158 billion ballooned to P243 billion after the bicameral conference, leading to suspicions that a similar process will occur for the 2026 budget.

A total of P243 billion in UA remains in the 2026 national budget approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives. These include P97 billion for support to foreign-assisted projects and another P35 billion listed as the Philippine government’s counterpart to foreign-assisted projects.

“Malacañang proposed a smaller UA in the NEP to avoid scrutiny, then allowed this to be inflated during the bicam when public attention wanes,” Makabayan explained.

“Tama na ang korapsyon na nagmumula sa pambansang budget (Stop the corruption that stems from the national budget). The Filipino people deserve a budget that serves the nation’s needs, not the greed of the few,” the progressive coalition said. (RVO)