Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan vowed to closely scrutinize the proposed 2027 national budget, particularly the allocation and use of unprogrammed appropriations, stressing the need to ensure that public funds are spent responsibly and transparently.
The senator emphasized that the Senate must thoroughly examine the proposed spending plan to ensure taxpayers’ money goes to programs and services that address the needs of ordinary Filipinos, including food security, agriculture, education, health, and disaster preparedness.
He also underscored the importance of civil society organizations, such as the People’s Budget Coalition, in flagging possible irregularities in the proposed P7.2-trillion 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) approved by Congress.
“Of course, titiyakin natin na we will come up with our version, at tama po kayo na ‘yung People’s Budget Coalition ay kasama ng Senate Committee on Finance sa pagbusisi rito. Mahalaga ang people’s participation,” the senator said in an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel (BNC). “And we’re very thankful, you know na nandoon sila.”
“Mahalaga ang taumbayan ay kasama, ang mga people’s organizations ay kasama sa pagbusisi dahil sa transparency. Hindi dapat nating ginagawang, tawag dito, ‘opaque’ o hindi makikita ang mga pangyayari o ang mga desisyon.”
Pangilinan, the chair of Subcommittee G of the Committee on Finance for the deliberations for the 2027 General Appropriations Act (GAA), raised particular concern over unprogrammed appropriations, underscoring the need for greater scrutiny of the conditions governing their release and the purposes for which they may be used.
He explained that the Supreme Court’s decision declaring as unconstitutional some unprogrammed appropriations of the 2024 and 2025 budgets will be their “starting point.”
In particular, the lawmaker will scrutinize lump-sum amounts in the proposed unprogrammed funds for the 2027 budget.
“In fairness naman, we give them the benefit of the doubt, baka hinahabol pa ‘yung documentation pero dapat sana ideally before it was approved, documented na,” he pointed out.
“Siguro for some reason or another, maybe, some of them are saying ‘we will include it in the bicam,’ at doon natin ilalabas ‘yung mga detalye,” he added.
Pangilinan stressed the need to livestream the bicameral conference committee proceedings, where Senate and House members reconcile their respective versions of the 2027 national budget, as was done last year.
He emphasized that any agreements reached during closed-door meetings must also be disclosed to the public to ensure transparency and accountability throughout the budget process.