EDITORIAL — Budget accountability

As the Senate continued deliberations on the proposed national budget for 2027, watchdogs upped their tally of insertions and discretionary funds prone to political patronage in the version of the outlay passed by the House of Representatives.

The amount flagged by the budget watchdogs in the House version of the General Appropriations Bill or GAB has reached about P1 trillion, out of the P7.2 trillion proposed by the executive.

Whether the flagged items can still be corrected remains to be seen. The Senate is still hammering out its version of the GAB. The two chambers of Congress will reconcile their versions during the bicameral conference.

Several senators vowed that this year’s bicameral conference would be marked by genuine transparency rather than token shows of openness before the wheeling and dealing takes place behind closed doors.

The bicam will be taking place as the government appeals a Supreme Court ruling declaring as unconstitutional the General Appropriations Acts of 2024 and 2025 and portions of the 2026 GAA, mostly over unprogrammed appropriations and lump sums.

Watchdogs have flagged lump sums still embedded in the House version of the 2027 GAB as well as issues related to unprogrammed appropriations.

The SC struck down the pork barrel system way back in November 2013, prohibiting lump sums and the earmarking of projects for funding after the GAA has been enacted.

Yet recent developments have shown that Congress and Malacañang kept finding creative ways of going around the SC prohibition, with the practice reaching unconscionable proportions under the current administration.

People are wondering whether anyone can be held accountable for creative budgeting designed for political patronage and kickbacks. There ought to be a law – but those responsible for mangling the budget can’t be expected to pass it.

The Office of the Ombudsman is reportedly studying the SC ruling on GAAs, for possible moves related to public accountability. Unless penalties are imposed, the nation will not see the end of lawmakers taking liberties with people’s money.