Business groups urge removal of insertions

MANILA, Philippines — Over 30 business groups are urging Congress leaders to remove baseless insertions in the proposed 2027 budget as well as restore funding for foreign-assisted projects and the EDSA Busway.

“We call on the leaders of both Houses of Congress – Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, House Speaker Faustino Dy III, Senate Finance committee chair Joseph Victor Ejercito and House Appropriations committee chair Mikaela Angela Suansing – to remove from the proposed P7.2 trillion 2027 national budget every congressional insertion that has no technical basis,” the business groups said in a joint statement yesterday.

The groups that signed the joint statement are Alyansa Agrikultura, Cebu Business Club, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Leads Foundation, Connected Women, Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Federation of Filipino Chinese-Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc., Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), Filipina CEO Circle, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Fintech Alliance.Ph, Foundation for Economic Freedom, Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Institute for Solidarity in Asia, Institute of Corporate Directors, Investment House Association of the Philippines, Justice Reform Initiative, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Move As One Coalition, Movement for Restoration of Peace and Order, Nextgen Organization of Women Corporate Directors, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, People Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Philippine Financial and Inter-Industry Pride, Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Philippine Retailers Association, Procurement and Supply Institute of Asia, Roundtable for Inclusive Development, Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines, The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service Foundation and Women Business Council.

For the business groups, an item should only be in the budget if it is backed by a feasibility study or detailed engineering design and validated as ready for implementation, consistent with the implementing agency’s master plans.

Various sectors have raised concerns over massive insertions in the proposed House General Appropriations Bill approved on third reading earlier this month. Concerns include the more than P180 billion in Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) allocations added in the budget amendments and review subcommittee.

Based on a report by independent budget watchdogs, the additions cover at least 6,000 projects, bringing the DPWH project count in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to at least 16,000, with many appearing as lump sums for multipurpose buildings and access and bypass roads, without published project lists or proponents.

Such additions are to be funded in part by cutting about P130 billion from FAP, P9.5 billion from calamity funds, P1.76 billion from the EDSA Busway and P4.9 billion from health programs.

“We find this deeply troubling. Foreign-assisted projects are the country’s most rigorously prepared infrastructure – backed by feasibility studies, financing commitments and international procurement standards,” the groups said.

The reduced funding would delay high-impact projects intended to help attract investments and bring down logistics costs.

In addition, the groups said raiding calamity funds cannot be justified in a country exposed to disasters.

The groups also urged Congress leaders to strike special provisions that allow agencies to modify or replace projects after enactment.

For transparency, the groups also said amendments should be published in full by identifying the project, location, amount, source of funds, justification and the legislator who proposed it, before the Senate votes on second reading and before the bicameral conference begins.

In addition, the group said no new items must be added at the level of the bicameral conference committee, which should only reconcile what each chamber has already approved.

“Our call is not for delay. We support the timely passage of the 2027 budget and oppose a reenacted budget,” the groups said, noting that a clean and timely budget can coexist.

A budget free of politically driven insertions, they added, would strengthen investor confidence, protect the country’s fiscal space and ensure that every peso spent goes to what the country truly needs.

Gatchalian told reporters on the sidelines of the FPI’s Philippines Business Summit 2026 yesterday that the goal is to avoid a reenacted budget scenario.

“We cannot afford a reenacted budget,” he said, citing the country’s slow economic growth.

Second quarter economic growth was at 2.3 percent, the weakest in five years. This brought average growth in the first half to 2.6 percent, below the government’s 3.5 to 4.5 percent growth target for the year.

“If we reenact the budget, we won’t have new infrastructure… If you don’t have new infrastructure, you don’t have a driver for growth,” Gatchalian said.

On FAP, he said the Senate is looking at restoring some funding, particularly for transportation projects including subway and commuter rail.

“We’re coordinating with the Department of Transportation in that regard,” he said.

“In the NEP, there’s no more allocation. So we’re also studying the possibility of allocating for the EDSA Busway. It’s a good project,” he pointed out.

Given the tight fiscal space, he said the Senate is scrutinizing the budget and is thinking of cutting funding for unnecessary items like travel expenses, seminars and conferences across agencies.

Similar to last year, he said that all movements in the bicameral conference committee would be made public and posted on the website.

“We have three weeks to do the assessment. But we’ve already started… So we’ll have a committee report by the  second to third week of November,” he said.

At a briefing in Bukidnon, Palace press officer Claire Castro said it was “premature” for Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice to describe as “callousness” a proposal to allocate more than P4 billion in public works projects to Ilocos Norte’s first district, represented by President Marcos’ son, House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos.

“Even if it has been proposed, it doesn’t mean that the entire P4 billion will be provided. The process is not yet over,” Castro said.

“When one claims that there is callousness, there should be evidence that the fund was used for corruption.  These statements are too premature and can affect the  mindset of our countrymen. The budget has been approved at the House, but it doesn’t mean it would be stolen,” she added.

Castro said the President would not allow projects without details, emphasizing that the approval was made by the House of Representatives and not by the executive branch.

“So to those monitoring the budget, we need your help. You won’t do damage to the government. If you notice something that needs to be addressed, tell us and the President will listen. But do not use coarse language, especially if you are a lawmaker,” she said.

Meanwhile, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has accused in a television program some politicians of receiving commissions of 20 percent to 30 percent from infrastructure projects, possibly to build up campaign funds for the 2028 elections.

“Look at the political capital of politicians. Assistance is one. The projects, especially those where they have a cut of around 20 percent to 30 percent,” Magalong said. - Alexis Romero, Artemio Dumlao

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