Palace warns Marcos may veto 2027 budget insertions lacking documentation

Malacañang warns President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may veto amendments to the proposed 2027 national budget that lack supporting documents or clearly identified projects. The warning follows calls from over 30 business and civil society groups to remove questionable congressional insertions, including

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. may veto amendments to the proposed 2027 national budget that lack supporting documents or clearly identified projects, Malacañang said on Tuesday, amid calls from business and civil society groups to remove questionable congressional insertions.

“The President will not allow any budget amendments that lack sufficient documentation, proper descriptions, or concrete projects,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told reporters. “We know that when the President needs to exercise his veto power, he does so. That is precisely what we should expect from the President, as he himself has stated that public funds must not be wasted or abused,” she added.

Her remarks came after more than 30 business and civil society organisations urged Congress to remove amendments lacking technical justification from the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget. The groups said projects should be backed by feasibility studies or detailed engineering designs, aligned with implementing agencies’ master plans and validated as ready for implementation next year.

Citing independent budget watchdogs, the organisations flagged more than P180 billion in additional allocations for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the House of Representatives-approved General Appropriations bill. The additions allegedly cover at least 6,000 projects, many of them listed as lump-sum allocations for multipurpose buildings and access and bypass roads without publicly available project details or identified proponents. The groups also questioned reported reductions in funding for foreign-assisted projects, calamity response, the EDSA busway and health programmes, urging lawmakers to restore the allocations unless the cuts could be publicly justified.

Ms. Castro said the President is willing to receive information from organisations and people monitoring the budget process and encouraged them to submit supporting documents on potentially questionable allocations. “The government needs budget watchdogs,” she said. “You are needed so that your voices can be heard by the President.”

She added that Mr. Marcos would allow Congress to complete deliberations on the spending measure, saying intervention by the Executive could be viewed as interference in the legislative process. The proposed budget will still undergo Senate scrutiny before differences between the two chambers’ versions are reconciled by the bicameral conference committee. Ms. Castro said the final measure would then be reviewed by the President’s economic managers before being submitted to Mr. Marcos for approval.

She also cautioned against drawing conclusions about alleged irregularities pending deliberations. “The budget process is not yet complete and will undergo thorough scrutiny, as promised by the Senate,” she said. The 2027 budget will be the last full-year spending plan of the Marcos administration and is expected to fund projects tied to the President’s priority programmes. Asked how Mr. Marcos would ensure that these projects remain funded, Ms. Castro reiterated his position that Congress should avoid reducing allocations proposed by the Executive branch if doing so would delay implementation.