Proposed unprogrammed funds cut to P249B
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has allocated P249.98 billion for unprogrammed allocations (UA) in the proposed 2026 budget.
The DBM has turned over the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to Congress, officially kicking off budget deliberations for 2026. The NEP is the executive branch’s proposed budget and is subject to congressional approval in a months-long process.
The UA is one of the more contentious portions of the budget, as these are items without dedicated funding. Projects under it can only proceed once the government generates sufficient excess revenue.
In 2025, the NEP’s unprogrammed allocations were set at P158.66 billion and later increased to P363.24 billion during congressional deliberations.
This means the proposed 2026 UA is lower than what Congress approved in 2025, but higher than the DBM’s original 2025 NEP proposal.
Unprogrammed funds are not considered part of the total proposed budget for a given year since the items under it do not have dedicated funding.
The UA can be triggered in several ways, including the generation of excess revenues from the government’s income sources.
Another trigger is the approval of loans for foreign-assisted projects.
The UA has faced criticism for its significant growth in recent years, particularly during closed-door sessions.
The ballooning of the UA in Congress has been a trend during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term. In 2023, the DBM asked for P588,162,480,000 in unprogrammed funds, yet Congress raised this to P807.16 billion.
In the 2025 budget, a mere P158.6 billion was proposed by the DBM. The same amount was likewise approved by Congress.
However, the 2025 UA more than tripled after a closed-door meeting of select lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate, known as the bicameral conference committee.
This part of the budgetary deliberations has been widely criticized by lawmakers and budget watchdogs for its lack of transparency.
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