Cheyenne Suarez

House of Representatives' plenary hall in Quezon City. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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House of Representatives Plenary Hall

Jaehwa Bernardo

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA -- A watchdog group on Thursday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order allowing what it described as &quot;red flag&quot; items in the 2026 national budget to be released at a later date.</p><p>Such an order will give the government time to review how these funds could be used responsibly, preventing politicians from using them to perpetuate patronage politics, People&#x27;s Budget Coalition Spokesperson AJ Montesa explained.</p><p>&quot;Ang panawagan namin ngayon ay magkaroon siya ng isang executive order o EO kung saan puwede markahan iyong items na may red flags pa rin at i-mark iyon na &#x27;for later release,&#x27;&quot; Montesa said in a Teleradyo Serbisyo.</p><p>&quot;Hindi ibig sabihin ay completely ivi-veto iyon pero pag-aaralan ng ehekutibo kung paano ma-implement &#x27;yon na mabawasan iyong politiczation o iyon involvement ng mga politiko doon sa pag-implement ng mga soft pork, hard pork and unprogrammed appropriations,&quot; he said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aGH6fkNAD58?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>This follows concerns from <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/18/house-lawmakers-slam-pork-in-bicam-approved-2026-budget-1713"><strong>several lawmakers</strong></a> and budget watchdogs that the proposed 2026 national budget still contained items similar to &quot;pork barrel,&quot; with funds potentially falling into the hands of politicians for personal or political gain.</p><p>Among the programs cited by Montesa is the Department of Health&#x27;s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) program, which provides financial aid to help eligible applicants&#x27; medical expenses in hospitals.</p><p>Critics, however, raised concerns that <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/leachon-maifip-medical-aid-program-could-lead-to-next-corruption-scandal-1417"><strong>the program was being used to perpetuate patronage politics</strong></a> through guarantee letters from politicians. </p><p>&quot;&#x27;Yong mga MAIFIP kasi, puwede siya ilagay diretso sa mga ospital, maging zero-balance billing, puwede siya idiretso sa PhilHealth, halimbawa,&quot; Montesa said.</p><p>&quot;So &#x27;di na talaga kailangang dumaan sa politiko at as much as possible, dapat ma-penalize talaga kung may mahanap na politiko na ginagamit iyong pondo na ito,&quot; he added.</p><p>Montesa explained that his group was pushing for an executive order because they do not expect Marcos to veto budget items resembling &quot;pork,&quot; as he needs to maintain good relations with House lawmakers.</p><p>On Wednesday, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/12/24/marcos-to-sign-2026-budget-on-first-week-of-january-recto-1228"><strong>said </strong></a>Marcos would sign the country&#x27;s P6.793-trillion budget for 2026 in the first week of January.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E1Tx9uOGJhM?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><strong></strong><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>A watchdog group on Thursday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order allowing what it described as 'red flag' items in the 2026 national budget to be released at a later date.</p>

A watchdog group on Thursday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order allowing what it described as 'red flag' items in the 2026 national budget to be released at a later date.

Budget watchdog sees 'red flag' items despite lawmakers' assurances of no pork

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Budget watchdog sees 'red flag' items despite lawmakers' assurances of no pork

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 25, 2025 12:46 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 25, 2025 01:05 PM PHT

Read More:

2026 budget

People's Budget Coalition

Ferdinand Marcos Jr

executive order

pork

soft pork

MAIFIP

corruption

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