Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News/File

Andrea Taguines

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — Acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo on Friday said he is opposed to scrapping unprogrammed appropriations (UA) from the 2027 national budget, which the agency has already begun preparing.</p><p>Unprogrammed appropriations have no definite funding source and are kept on standby. They are released only if the national government collects excess revenues, earns from new taxes or the sale of state assets, or secures approved loans for foreign-assisted projects.</p><p>“The unprogrammed appropriation is not really a bad proposal. What is wrong is how do we use unprogrammed appropriations. It’s very important for us to limit the programs or projects that should be included,” he said during a forum at the UP Diliman School of Economics.</p><p>Several groups have called for the abolition of unprogrammed funds, with some lawmakers even asking the Supreme Court to declare UA in the 2026 budget unconstitutional.</p><p>“For 2026, we have limited (them) only to three particular list of projects: one is for the foreign assisted project, the risk management program, and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) Modernization Program,” added Toledo.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHAT ARE UNPROGRAMMED ACQUISITIONS FOR?</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>He said unprogrammed funds are particularly crucial for foreign-assisted or Public-Private Partnership projects which are sometimes approved after the year&#x27;s spending plan is already set.</p><p>“At the time, there were a lot of foreign-assisted projects that were not yet approved and that is why we put it in the unprogrammed appropriations,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;Once the proposed project has been approved by the ICC (Investment Coordination Committee )… That’s the time we have to tap the unprogrammed appropriations para maituloy yung project. But there is a trigger. You have to have an excess revenue.” </p><p>Unprogrammed appropriations, however, were also used to finance billions of pesos worth of flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2023 and 2024.</p><p>This period also coincided with a spike in alleged anomalous flood control projects, as revealed in previous congressional hearings.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/25/-anomalous-flood-control-projects-peaked-in-2023-2024-2228">&#x27;Anomalous flood control projects peaked in 2023, 2024&#x27;<br/></a></div><p>Toledo confirmed the budget releases from the unprogrammed appropriations were for flood control projects.</p><div><br/></div><p>TOLEDO UNAWARE </p><div><br/></div><p>But when asked by former National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Winnie Monsod if they noticed anything wrong or detected any possible corruption, he said he was unaware of it until President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. exposed it during his State of the Nation Address in 2025.</p><p>“Personally, I found out the issues, actually, when it was ... declared or presented by the president… Not unless that is validated by the agency or COA (Commission on Audit), we don’t know that the problem exists,” he said.</p><p>“Whatever report that we receive, that’s the basis for us to say that the projects are being implemented,” added Toledo.</p><p>He said the department relies on documentation and reports from the DPWH.</p><p>“It is beyond belief that you could not have known about this,&quot; Monsod said in response. </p><p>&quot;What has happened to the School of Economics? I’m very, very disappointed. It hurts me that this... corruption scandal occurred when members or graduates of the School of Economics were in positions of responsibility.” </p><p>Toledo meanwhile vowed stricter budget oversight and other reforms moving forward such as the issuance of National Budget Circular 595-A.</p><p>“The head of the agency should have an undertaking certifying that those program that they are going to pay, accounts payable, should be signed and should be notarized— making sure that the projects, yung babayaran nila, are legit. Existing siya, hindi siya ghost, at tsaka legit talaga yung babayaran,” he explained.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHO SIGNED OFF ON UA BUDGET RELEASES?</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Toledo and former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who was also at the forum, gave different answers when asked about who ultimately approves releases from the unprogrammed appropriations.</p><p>Diokno said it’s the president, but Toledo said it just goes through the budget chief.</p><p>Diokno countered that the budget secretary signs the release document “but it’s always with the clearance from the president.”</p><p>For Monsod, this is proof that Marcos Jr. knew of the alleged budget anomalies even back in 2023 and 2024.</p><p>“So the president knew that this was going on. The president has a lot of discretion and I cannot understand why he then said these things... &#x27;(that) all of a sudden, has dawned upon me that there is a problem&#x27;,” she said.</p><p>Toledo said he cannot recall how it was during Diokno’s time but insisted the budget secretary can authorize the Special Allotment Release Order without having to go through the president, as long as all the parameters under the special provision of the unprogrammed appropriations are satisifed.</p><p>ABS-CBN News has reached out to Malacañang for comment.</p>

<p>“The unprogrammed appropriation is not really a bad proposal. What is wrong is how do we use unprogrammed appropriations," Acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo said.</p>

“The unprogrammed appropriation is not really a bad proposal. What is wrong is how do we use unprogrammed appropriations," Acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo said.

Acting DBM chief rejects calls to scrap unprogrammed appropriations in 2027 national budget

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Acting DBM chief rejects calls to scrap unprogrammed appropriations in 2027 national budget

Andrea Taguines,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 07, 2026 08:34 AM PHT

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Department of Budget and Management

Rolando Toledo

Winnie Monsod

Benjamin Diokno

Unprogrammed Acquisitions

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