Congress is all set to pass a new national budget infested with pork barrel insertions and it deserves rejection by the people, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) said.
The group pointed out that the proposed 2026 national budget set to be finalized by the bicameral committee of both houses of Congress is full of suspicious “allocables” for lawmakers.
“Allocables”are amounts with no identified projects at the time of approval, later to be divided among favored senators and representatives.
It has been described as the new pork barrel invented under the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government.
READ: ‘Allocables’ are the new pork and Sandro Marcos and Martin Romualdez are the pork barrel kings
“[BAYAN] condemns the duplicity of the Marcos Jr. government, which claims to be against corruption but whose 2026 budget contains pork barrel projects through “allocables” of lawmakers, bloated unprogrammed appropriations and higher confidential and intelligence funds for the Office of the President,” the group said.
If the proposed budget is passed in its current form, BAYAN said Marcos Jr. retains control over lump sum items, confidential and intelligence funds and unprogrammed appropriations.
The group belittled the live-streaming of bicameral proceedings as lawmakers can easily hold executive sessions.
After the massive and nationwide anti-corruption protests on November 30, BAYAN said the Marcos Jr. government has yet to be made accountable for the rollout of pork barrel projects, anomalous budget insertions, and delivery of kickbacks.
It added that the investigations by the Independent Commission on Infrastructures have been rendered ineffective, and its real purpose of shielding the president from investigation is already established.
Last week, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the commission only has two months left to wrap up its investigations following revelations that it has not been given a budget to support its probe into anomalous public works projects.
“BAYAN calls on the people to sustain the clamor for accountability by organizing more protests and to demand the removal of Marcos, Duterte, and all officials involved in the systemic corruption,” the alliance said. # (Raymund B.Villanueva)
