DBM: We Only Include What Agencies Propose

In response to concerns that insertions can start in budget preparations, the Department of Budget and Management clarified that only those proposed by agencies are included in the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

- By Marco Luis Beech

DBM Undersecretary Goddes Hope Libiran told The STAR yesterday that the NEP strictly contains only projects submitted and endorsed by government agencies themselves, with no additional items introduced by the DBM outside official agency proposals.

"It's the agencies that propose a budget to the DBM, we do not include projects not proposed by agencies in the NEP," she said in a Viber message.

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon had warned that "double insertion" in the budget could still be occurring, pointing out that initial political fund allocations may have already been introduced by the time the 2026 NEP was submitted to lawmakers.

He explained that once the proposed budget reaches Congress, an initial layer of insertions may have already been made at the regional level.

“From what the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) regional office submits, politicians already have (budget) insertions there, the pork barrel is inserted, so that when it reaches Malacañang, the pork barrel is already there,” Drilon said in a radio interview on Sunday.

The NEP, also called the President’s budget, is prepared by the budget department that details how government funds will be allocated for the next fiscal year and is submitted to Congress for deliberation and approval.