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Marcos’ “Pristine” 2026 Budget: A Fiscal Fairy Tale Drowning in a Swamp of Scandal

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Louis ‘Barok’ Biraogo

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Marcos’ “Pristine” 2026 Budget: A Fiscal Fairy Tale Drowning in a Swamp of Scandal
Anomaly-Free? More Like Anomaly-Filled: BBM’s Budget Blunder Exposed

By Louis ‘Barok’ C Biraogo — October 3, 2025

BUCKLE up, mga ka-kweba, for a wild ride through the Philippine budget circus, where President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. dons his fiscal superhero cape, vowing a 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) as spotless as a unicorn’s conscience. With a PHP6.793-trillion budget at stake, Malacañang swears it’ll be free of “irregularities and congressional insertions,” per the Philippine News Agency. Sounds dreamy, right? Like promising a flood-free Manila while the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) builds castles in the mud. Let’s wield the Constitution’s scalpel, sprinkle some legal acid, and eviscerate this fantasy with the fury it deserves, because this “anomaly-free” pledge smells like pork barrel reheated in a microwave of denial.

The Great Hypocrisy Heist: Marcos’ Clean Budget Baloney Meets a Filthy Reality

Naks, the audacity of hope! Palace Press Officer Claire Castro gushes that Marcos wants a budget “properly executed and allocated to the right programs for the future and benefit of the people” (Philippine News Agency). Yet, the 2025 GAB is a steaming pile of proof to the contrary. Senator Panfilo Lacson, the budget’s unofficial lie detector, exposed PHP100 billion in senatorial insertions—each senator stuffing their pet projects like kids at a piñata party. This isn’t just pork; it’s a full-blown luau, dwarfing the pre-2013 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) era that the Supreme Court torched in Belgica v. Ochoa (G.R. No. 208566, 2013). Marcos’ response? A shrug and a claim of blissful ignorance: “Hindi po detalyado ang kaniyang pagkakaalam” about these insertions, says Castro. Translation: the President was too busy perfecting his selfie angle to notice a fiscal free-for-all. Is this leadership or a masterclass in playing dumb?

Then there’s the PHP141 billion Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) scandal, a shadow budget so murky it makes Manila Bay look crystal clear. Rep. Mikaela Suansing exposed this Department of Budget and Management (DBM)-sanctioned heist, where funds for “flood control” and infrastructure vanish into a black hole of zero oversight, no project details, and all the transparency of a brick wall. UA, for the uninitiated, is supposed to be standby cash for excess revenues or loans, but in practice? It’s pork barrel in a new dress, flouting Belgica‘s ban on lump-sum funds and Article VI, Section 25(1) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which demands itemized appropriations. Rep. France Castro tallied 3,770 public works projects guzzling PHP214.4 billion in UA from 2023-2024, while Senator Joel Villanueva pocketed PHP600 million for “flood control.” Marcos’ vow to nix insertions while UA runs wild is like swearing off dessert but hoarding the cake.

Flood-Control Fiasco: COA’s Audit Horror Show and a Commissioner Caught in the Muck

Cue the Commission on Audit (COA), dropping a performance audit that reads like a script for The Grift: Manila Edition. Overpriced dams, unfinished canals, and ghost projects litter the DPWH’s flood-control portfolio, with COA Commissioner Mario Lipana allegedly moonlighting as an insertion maestro. Yes, the audit watchdog is implicated in the very budget scams he’s supposed to catch—irony so rich it could fund a new Malacañang wing. These shenanigans scream violations of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), with “evident bad faith” in funding completed projects and “manifest partiality” to cronies’ contracts. Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) demands accountability, but Lipana and pals treat it like a paperweight. Marcos’ PHP255.55 billion transfer from DPWH’s flood funds to “priority programs”? It’s a desperate mop-up job, not a solution, and it flirts with Araullo v. Aquino (G.R. No. 209287, 2014)‘s ban on unauthorized fund transfers under Article VI, Section 25(5). Too little, too late, Mr. President—the floodwaters of corruption are already neck-deep.

Legal Fireworks: Constitutional Cannons and Supreme Court Smackdowns

Let’s talk law, because this budget circus violates enough statutes to fill a law library. The 1987 Constitution‘s Article VI, Section 25(1) mandates itemized appropriations—no vague slush funds allowed. Belgica v. Ochoa obliterated PDAF for enabling legislator largesse without accountability, yet UA persists as its zombie twin, thumbing its nose at the non-delegation doctrine. Araullo v. Aquino slapped down executive fund-juggling, requiring transfers to follow strict GAB conditions. Marcos’ PHP255 billion shuffle risks the same fate—where’s the notice, where’s the authority? Meanwhile, Madera v. COA (G.R. No. 212859, 2020) holds officials personally liable for disallowed funds, so why isn’t Lipana sweating under an Ombudsman probe? Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) demands competitive bidding, not backroom deals for flood-control flops. The Constitution isn’t a suggestion box, DBM and DPWH—it’s the law, and you’re failing the bar exam.

Credibility Carnage: Marcos’ Reactive Ruse and a Public Fed Up

Marcos’ “anomaly-free” sermon is a credibility car crash. The September 2025 “Trillion Peso March” saw Filipinos storm the streets, not for a parade but against a trillion-peso sinkhole of graft. Castro claims Marcos shares this “galit ng taumbayan,” but his “not fully aware” excuse is a cop-out thinner than a budget spreadsheet. He approved the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) in July, post-COA audits, pre-protests—yet now he’s the budget’s knight in shining armor? This isn’t reform; it’s a PR stunt, a reactive pirouette to dodge the fallout of scandals he failed to preempt. If insertions are so vile, why not swing the Article VI, Section 27(2) line-item veto like a battle-axe? Instead, we get tepid threats and a transfer that smells of Araullo defiance. The public’s not buying this fiscal telenovela, Bongbong—your script needs a rewrite.

Judicial Jihad and Reform Rx: Draining the Budget Swamp

Enough with the mockery—time to demand blood. Ombudsman, channel your inner Conchita Carpio-Morales: launch Republic Act No. 3019 investigations into Lipana, UA architects, and every senator with a budget fetish. Supreme Court, dust off Belgica and Araullo—declare UA unconstitutional for its lump-sum lunacy and separation-of-powers sins. Reforms? Abolish UA outright; it’s a fiscal landmine. Mandate geotagging for every project—GPS coordinates, not promises—plus real-time DBM dashboards and COA pre-release audits. Ban anonymous congressional insertions via law, enforce sponsor disclosure, and cap additions at zero beyond the executive’s NEP. Pass Republic Act No. 6770 expansions with whistleblower bounties, turning the “Trillion Peso March” into a citizen army against graft. Flood control? Create independent oversight bodies, not Palace puppets, to vet every peso. No more sequels to this scandal saga.

The Final Mocking Jab: A Budget as Clean as a Manila Bay Oil Spill

Marcos’ “clean budget” is a fiscal fairy tale, a PHP6.793-trillion mirage where senators play fiscal pirates, UA funds vanish like magic, and the President feigns shock like a bad actor. The Constitution weeps, the COA wails, and the public marches, yet Malacañang offers veto threats and tardy transfers as if we’re all born yesterday. One question lingers: If 2026 is truly anomaly-free, why does it feel like PDAF: The Revenge? Wake up, Philippines—this house of cards is crumbling, and it’s time to demand a fiscal reckoning.

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Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo

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