Suansing maintains: No pork in proposed 2027 budget

MANILA, Philippines — Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing has maintained that there is no pork in the proposed 2027 national budget or the House of Representatives’ General Appropriations Bill (GAB), contrary to claims from progressive groups and budget observers.

In an online interview on Friday with reporters covering the House, Suansing — head of the House committee on appropriations which leads the crafting of the annual budget — said she can categorically say that there is no pork, and not even the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) can be considered one.

The LGSF has been labeled by the opposition as the “President’s Pork” due to its supposed characterization as a discretionary fund, but Suansing said the the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has pointed to jurisprudence stating that the LGSF is not a form of pork.

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READ: House subpanel OKs additional P4.09M for next year’s LGSF 

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“Categorically […] I can tell you that there is no pork in the 2027 budget, what was mentioned when I defended the LGSF, which was repeated several times by our colleagues in the Minority, it was answered by the DBM — that there is apong jurisprudence on the matter that says that LGSF is not pork,” Suansing said.

There are fears that the current administration will make use of the LGSF as a tool for patronage politics come the 2028 national elections, as the executive branch can determine which areas will get prioritization for the appropriation.

Last August, former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno said the government needs to set clear rules for allocating the LGSF, as it should not be distributed at the mere discretion of the executive branch.

Magno said it will be up to Congress to determine a “clear framework and parameters for how these funds will be used.”

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READ: Marcos’ P58.3-B LGSF a potential patronage tool – economist 

During the Budget Amendments Review Sub-committee (BARSc) — a sub-panel of Suansing’s committee on appropriations tasked to thresh out amendments in the GAB — members agreed to push for a P4.091 million increase to the LGSF.

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Proposed amendments made by the BARSc will be tackled at the plenary level, during the period of amendments on House Bill (HB) No. 10858 which contains the GAB or the proposed P7.2 trillion budget.  Once the period of amendments is finished, the House can consider HB No. 10858 for second reading approval.

READ: Key 2027 House budget review delayed over tight room for revisions 

Under the 2027 National Expenditures Program or the budget submitted by the executive branch to Congress, the LGSF was given P58.53 billion.

Other issues

But the concerns of budget watchdogs stretch beyond the LGSF, as several observers like the People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) noted that 85 percent of the BARSc’s P116.3 billion proposed amendments were transferred to items they consider as “red flags.”

PBC was referring to “ayuda programs that run on politician referrals, infrastructure insertions with opaque project plans, the Local Government Support Fund, the House’s own budget, and confidential and intelligence funds.”

Suansing, however, explained that the allocations were necessary especially in the context of an economic slowdown and higher prices of goods brought by the Middle East conflict.  One example, she said, was the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) which allowed the provision of fuel subsidies to the transport sector.

“For example, the fuel transport subsidy of the DOTr (Department of Transportation) is targeted, but generally for the rest of the tricycle drivers, PUV (public utility vehicle) drivers, especially those in far-flung areas outside of Metro Manila, we really relied on the AICS for funding of the transport fuel assistance given to them,” she said.

“To be honest, the funds added yesterday — based on what we gave the DSWD amounting to P25.8 billion, our total of now even with that addition would only be at around P59 billion which is still lower than the 2026 GAA (General Appropriations Act) level, and much, much lower than the request of Secretary Rex Gatchalian,” she added.

Suansing said that Gatchalian requested for a P76 billion budget for DSWD.

Meanwhile, the lawmaker noted that the P10 billion for the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk was a big help in providing fuel subsidies to farmers hit by the rising oil prices — and will also be crucial in preparing the agricultural sector for the possible effects of a super El Niño.

“This is also an item used by our government to respond to the needs of our farmers who were affected by the fuel crisis, because prices of diesel, fertilizers, and other farm inputs also spiked.  So the P10 billion we placed in 2026 played a big role […] in helping our farmers,” she said.

“The P10 billion in 2026 was able to help 4.2 million farmers all throughout the country.  So that is what the Department of Agriculture is asking for again […] in anticipation of the potential super El Niño, so that they could also help our farmers again,” she added.

Suansing also rejected notions that the infrastructure budget is for “opaque projects” as there is a set of requirements that the DBM asked for even as early as the budget call.

“Definitely this is not opaque, because there is a detailed list of items, it was tagged yesterday as locally-funded projects […] So we will see that, this will be reflected line by line once the House General Appropriations Bill comes out,” she said.

“And all of these, as I manifested yesterday, particularly for DPWH projects that will be reflected in the House General Appropriations Bill, every single one of the projects that will be approved in the HGAB will be backed up by complete documents,” she added.

Last September 25, the House wrapped up its plenary-level debates on the government agencies’ proposed budget for 2027.  However, it took some time for the BARSc to start, as the public meeting started late afternoon of Thursday.

After days of uncertainty, it was announced on Wednesday that the BARSc will convene by 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, but the session was pushed back two hours.  Eventually, the conference was delayed again by an hour.

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A source told the INQUIRER that BARSc was late because lawmakers strived to balance competing budget priorities within tight fiscal limits.  However, PBC coordinator Mary Abigail Modales said the executive session before the convening of the BARSc “defeats the purpose of the livestream.” /mr