Unprogrammed appropriations spurred by Congressional insertions now typify the most perverse features of the much-contested pork barrel scam and Maharlika Investment Fund, anchored on exploiting public coffers to bolster political patronage. 

Intended as “standby appropriations,” this funding is dependent on the availability of additional government revenues. They usually finance infrastructure, risk management programs, and foreign-assisted projects. For so long, there has been virtually no difference between the president-proposed and Congress-approved budget for unprogrammed appropriations.

But in the 2024 national budget, Congress allotted P731 billion of the standby funds through its closed-door bicameral conference, drastically spiking up the P282 billion proposed by the executive. This trend started during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s term in 2022 when Congress added P100 billion in unprogrammed funds without scrutiny. His affinity for opaque budgeting procedures and discreet bolstering of pork also led to the bloating of confidential and intelligence funds. 

The exorbitant addition allows politicians to augment the funds in their districts aimed at boosting patronage. This is reminiscent of the unconstitutional pork barrel that facilitated public officials’ plunder through discretionary funds to local pet projects.

Such pork fattening is evinced most as Congress hiked the president-proposed P822 billion fund of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) by P176 billion to support infrastructure projects–the biggest Congressional insertion across all agencies. 

Support for unlisted government infrastructure and social programs, and foreign-assisted projects including several big-ticket infrastructures were transferred as unprogrammed appropriations, constituting 55 percent of the funds at P404 billion. The removal of such projects, including maintenance for public works and road repair, in the department’s line budget allowed lawmakers to insert more pet projects in the DPWH.

The department’s infrastructure projects have long been marred by cases of bribery and kickbacks in local scenes, where local units and contractors connive to exchange favors. The impetus for fortifying this clientelism grows upon the 2025 midterm elections’ demand to inflate politicians’ campaign war chests.

Though the budget department defended its constitutionality by stating that unprogrammed appropriations would only be disbursed subject to fund availability, the new provision in the 2024 General Appropriations Act ensured that funds will be readily accessible at the expense of the people. Aside from excess or new revenue collections and loans, unprogrammed appropriations can now be sourced from the balance of government-owned or controlled corporations such as PhilHealth. This echoes the contested provision in the Maharlika fund that permits tapping citizens' contributions in government-run insurance institutions.

Citing the 2024 budget law, the finance department in April ordered PhilHealth to remit P89 billion to the Treasury despite violation of stipulations in the Universal Health Care Act. Instead of using excess funds to increase the benefits or reduce contribution of PhilHealth members confronting another hike in payments, such surpluses are siphoned to pork allocations. This further cuts much-needed resources supposedly benefitting the poorest in PhilHealth’s payment schemes.

The cycle of patronage plaguing our political terrain must thus be severed. Doing so entails affirming the unconstitutionality of excessive Congressional insertions permitted by the president and illegality of new  funding sources for unprogrammed appropriations. That path can be paved by the same vigor of a united citizenry, both in the parliament of the streets and legal proceedings, that won the dissolution of a form of pork barrel through the Priority Development Assistance Fund.

Ultimately, a long-term resolution points to a genuine participatory framework in budgeting that repudiates opaque processes, enjoins stronger sectoral engagement, and prioritizes social services for the common good. The power of the purse must be wielded first and foremost by the people. ●

First published in the July 22, 2024 print edition of the Collegian.