By vetoing P92.5 billion in unprogrammed funds and preserving the P150.9 billion remainder, President Marcos appears to be meeting his critics halfway. But halfway measures tend to produce half-baked ...

Second of a series MALFEASANCE in government is a tenacious metastasis, the cure for which does exist. It is as old as, in ...

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to slash P92.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations is part of the government’s effort to make ...

MANILA, Philippines — The controversial use of unprogrammed appropriations has been questioned for years, with critics likening it to discretionary funds or the government’s pork. There still isn’t a ...

MANILA, Philippines — A mainstay in the national budget for years, the unprogrammed appropriations may have to be removed in the 2026 budget program to ensure “immediate funding” for projects, Senate ...

‘NOT BLANK CHECKS’ President Marcos on Monday, signs the 2026 national budget in a ceremony in Malacañang, witnessed by top leaders of Congress. The President says the unprogrammed appropriations in ...

THE retention of more than P300 billion worth of pork barrel–like funds in the 2026 national budget is a missed opportunity for the government to curb corruption and patronage politics, according to a ...

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Tuesday that it would have been possible to totally remove contentious unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 national budget if it was done during the crafting of the ...