'Pork barrel alive in 2026 budget'

Despite denials from the Marcos administration, pork barrel is still alive and well in the 2026 national budget, according to members of the militant Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives.

- By JOSE RODEL CLAPANO

“There is no pork barrel in the budget. Patently false. Pork barrel exists through congressional ‘allocables’ for infrastructure, party-list allocations, and presidential pork in Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) and Confidential and Intelligence Funds,” Makabayan said in a statement.

The bloc said it is disingenuous for some officials and lawmakers to invoke the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF.

“While PDAF was struck down in 2013 for allowing lump-sum appropriations, today’s system of district allocations achieves the same result — district engineering offices receive equal amounts as if divided among lawmakers,” Makabayan said.

“This system enables lawmakers to nominate projects, influence biddings, choose contractors, and receive kickbacks. If there is no system like this, we will not go as far as this level of corruption,” it added.