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Cebu lawmakers’ P83 billion discretion
The Freeman
|December 02, 2025
Over the three-year period, Cebu’s solons received a combined P55.77 billion in allocables and P27.3 billion in non-allocables.
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These allocables, discretionary district allocations inside the DPWH budget — function as a new form of “pork barrel.”
The formula behind these allocations is the so-called “BBM Parametric Formula”— Baselined, Balanced, and Managed, a system known allegedly only to former DPWH undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.
WORTH A BILLION FOR CEBU
The Freeman scraped that data that was provided from PCIJ.
With it, data showed that Cebu’s Ist District, represented by Rep. Rhea Mae Gullas, received the largest allocable share: P2.76 billion per year, or P8.33 billion from 2023 to 2025.
Rep. Edsel Galeos of the 2nd District got one of Cebu’s lowest at just P858.9 million per year, totaling P2.6 billion for the three years.
Third District Rep. PJ Garcia received P6.05 billion, while 4th District Rep. Janice Salimbangon controlled P5.31 billion.
Fifth District Rep. Duke Frasco obtained P6.63 billion, among the province’s consistently higher allocations.
Sixth District Rep. Daphne Lagon controlled P3.95 billion, while the 7th District under Rep. Peter John Calderon received P3.92 billion.
This story is from the December 02, 2025 edition of The Freeman.
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