Sa larawan ay sina Sotto, Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros, at sina Sen. Robinhood Padilla, Loren Legarda, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Joel Villanueva, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Erwin Tulfo, Rodante Marcoleta, at Manuel “Lito” Lapid. CESAR MORALES
MANILA, Philippines – Ikinatuwa nina Senate President Vicente Sotto III at Senador Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian ang pag-veto ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., sa mahigit P92.5 bilyon na nakapaloob sa unprogrammed funds na isiningit ng Mababang Kapulungan.
Sa magkakahiwalay na pahayag, kapwa ipinagmalaki nina Sotto at Gatchalian, chairman ng Senate committee on finance, ang pagbasura sa ilang items sa unprogrammed funds na nauna nang tinanggal ng Mataas na Kapulungan dahil magbubukas ang pintuan ng korapsiyon.
Kasabay nito, nagpahayag din ng kasiyahan at kagalakan si Senate President Pro-Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson sa pag-veto sa P92.5B unprogrammed funds.
“Yes, happy and satisfied,” aniya sa viber message sa reporters.
Ayon kay Sotto, alam nito hindi malayo na pinakamalinis na pondo ang 2026 national budget pero mas ginusto ni Marcos na linisin pang mabuti bago lagdaan na katunayan, pinatingkada ang probisyon na nagbabawal sa pulitiko na sumawsaw sa ayuda.
“I know the 2026 budget is by far the cleanest ever but it seems the President wants it squeaky clean. He even highlighted the Senate provision that prevents politicians, ani ng Senate chief.
Sinabi pa ni Sotto na tama si Pangulong Marcos na i-veto ang naturang pondo upang hindi magamit bilang discretionary funds na nauuwi sa korapsiyon.
“Yes, he is correct. Anyway, yun ang isa sa mga contentious na issue na sometimes sa legislation kailangan magbigay ka. Kaya malinis yun budget pero gusto ni PBBM mas malinis pa,” ayon pa kay Sotto.
Kaugnay nito, nilinaw naman ni Gatchalian na matagal nang inalis ng Senado ang P80B na SAGIP funds ngunit naibalik sa bicameral conference committee na niratipika ng dalawang Kapulungan ng Kongreso.
“I respect the President’s constitutional authority to veto certain provisions of the 2026 national budget. I would like to highlight that the ₱80-billion SAGIP under the Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) had already been removed by the Senate,” ani Gatchalian.
“The UA contains many components, and SAGIP has been identified as a source of abuse and corruption, particularly in flood control projects. In other words, lump-sum funds for projects such as flood control were often parked under SAGIP, which the Senate had long eliminated. In 2024, flood control funds under SAGIP amounted to ₱86.93 billion,”paliwanag pa niya.
Ipinaliwanag pa ng senador na walang direktang veto sa ilalim ng Programmed Apropriations at lima sa pitong vetoed items sa ilalim ng UA ay pawang orihinal na bahagi ng National Expenditure Program (NEP), o ang President’s Budget, na inaprubahan at inayos ng Kongreso.
“I also wish to clarify that the inclusion of the RACE Program in the UA is for book-entry purposes only. Similar to the CARS Program, it is a non-cash item that merely provides the legal basis for the DTI–BOI to issue tax payment certificates. Walang aktwal na pondong inilalabas dito,” aniya.
“Moving forward, we will closely monitor and coordinate with the Executive Branch on the implementation of the budget,” paliwanag pa ng senador.
Kamakailan, inihayag ng Palasyo na ibinasura ni Marcos ang halagang P92.5 bilyon sa UA na nakapaloob sa 2026 national budget.
“We acknowledge the support of Congress in limiting the unprogrammed appropriations to essential needs. However, I push further and reduce it to the absolute bare minimum. This shall be at the level lowest since 2019,” ayon kay Marcos sa kanyang speech matapos lagdaan ang P6.7-trillion budget sa ginanap na seremonya sa Malacañang nitong Lunes.
“To ensure that public funds are expended in clear service of national interest, I vetoed several items of appropriations with their purposes and corresponding special provisions under the UA, totaling almost P92.5 billion,” aniya pa. Ernie Reyes
