House majority parties back disclosure of every districts’ 2027 funding

MANILA, Philippines – Major political parties in the House of Representatives backed on Monday the full disclosure of congressional district allocations under the proposed 2027 budget.

Representatives of majority bloc parties – National Unity Party (NUP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrat (Lakas-CMD), Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) and Nacionalista Party (NP) – expressed support for greater transparency to demonstrate that lawmakers are not hiding unscrutinized allocations.

“We have no issue showing the projects in our respective districts,” Camarines Sur Rep. Arnie Fuentebella, who represented NPC, said in a media briefing in Filipino.

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“We want to be very transparent.”

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Lawmakers in recent days have publicized their district allocations amid public outcry over the P7.2-trillion spending bill passed by the House of Representatives, which civil groups criticized for channeling outsized infrastructure spending hikes to districts whose representatives hold congressional leadership posts and increases to programs ripe for political patronage.

READ: Watchdog: Speaker Dy to convene House budget panel to discuss reforms

Negros Oriental Rep. Janice Degamo, from Lakas-CMD, said “every member of the party is open to show the budget,” as she added that her partymates are not hiding budget line items in their districts.

The PFP, the political party of House Speaker Faustino Dy III, also added its support to full disclosure of district funding allotments, which party member Davao del Norte Rep. JM Lagdameo said could be shared through an online budget portal.

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“We’re okay to have it open as well as the portal being available also as a method of or a means of transparency,” Lagdameo said in the same briefing.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Romeo Momo, Sr., who is with the NP, said his partymates share the same position of disclosing district funding. 

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However, he cautioned that each congressional district’s needs vary, offering an explanation in spending gaps between each district.

“We believe that there is no equal allocation in each district. There’s no equality,” Momo said at the same briefing.

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“There are large districts, districts frequently hit by typhoons, districts traversed by major river systems, and districts that are constantly prone to typhoons and earthquakes,” he said. /gsg