Caloocan 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice expressed embarrassment over the 2027 national budget that the lower chamber recently passed on second reading, citing another large allocation for public works projects.
The House of Representatives passed on second reading Thursday the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget, with the third and final reading scheduled for today, Monday.
“Sabi nung 2025 SONA ni Pangulong Marcos, mahiya naman kayo. Itong ipinasa namin na second reading, ako, ang reaction ko diyan, nahiya ako. Nakakahiya,” Erice said on Unang Hirit on Monday.
(In President Marcos’s 2025 SONA, he said, ‘You should be ashamed.’ Looking at what we passed on second reading, my reaction was that I felt ashamed. It is shameful.)
According to Erice, one of the reasons why he could not vote in favor of the budget was the failure to learn from yet another massive allocation for public works—funds that had already been removed for this year.
“‘Yung 2025 budget, tinanggalan ’yung mga flagship projects, inilagay sa Public Works. Ngayon, ganito rin, P11 billion yung inilagay muli sa Public Works. Bukod doon, ‘yung mismong public works project ay hinati-hati at binago. May kinaltasan, may dinagdagan,” Erice said.
(In the 2025 budget, funds were stripped from flagship projects and reallocated to Public Works. Now, the same thing is happening, with P11 billion realigned to Public Works once again. Beyond that, the public works projects themselves were split up and modified—some were reduced, while others were increased.)
He added that lawmakers like him who voted to abstain or voted against the impeachment of Vice President Duterte allegedly suffered fund cuts, whereas allies and prosecutors received additional funding.
Erice noted that under the proposed 2027 national budget, Bulacan received additional funds, bringing the entire province's share to around P11 billion, whereas his district was allotted only P269 million for public works.
The congressman remarked that his fellow lawmakers have failed to learn, describing them as people who “ayaw mabulunan.”
Presidential pork?
Erice raised again his criticism that the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) serves as a “presidential pork barrel,” noting that its initial P58.53-billion allocation in the national budget has now ballooned to around P62 billion due to additional funding.
The congressman also flagged the overly broad scope allowed for the funds, which could be spent on any project and allocated to any local government unit.
Erice urged the government to establish clear parameters and a concrete basis for how the LGSF should be spent.
“Inilabas ko ‘yan during the budget deliberations that the government spend P22 B distributed to local governments. At ang pinakamasama, kung sino yung mga mayayaman na probinsya, like Quezon City, na mga city, sila pa 'yung pinakamalalaking allocation,” Erice said.
(I raised that during the budget deliberations—that the government spent P22 billion distributed to local governments. What makes it worse is that the wealthiest provinces and cities, like Quezon City, received the largest allocations.)
“Anong basis? ‘Di ba dapat support fund sa local government? Kung sino ‘yung pinakamangangailangan, kung sino ‘yung mga naghihirap? Eh ‘yung Batanes, zero. Maguindanao, zero. Aurora, zero,” he added.
(What is the basis? Isn't it supposed to be a support fund for local government units—for those who are most in need and struggling? Yet Batanes got zero, Maguindanao got zero, and Aurora got zero.)
Erice said he might clarify the matter before the Supreme Court if the P62-billion allocation and its “anything under the sun” spending guidelines remain in the 2027 national budget when signed into law.
Malacañang has defended the LGSF, and said that describing the fund as a presidential pork barrel was merely “pang-intriga” (for intrigue).
Transparency
Amid concerns over the rapid pace of deliberations on the national budget in the lower chamber, Erice said that he had no objection to the speed itself.
However, he urged full transparency in the budget process, alleging that the small committee reemerged during the Budget Amendments and Review Subcommittee (BARC) deliberation, where potential modifications to the budget were made.
“Ang problema, during the BARC, yung small committee bumalik na naman. Doon na naman pinagbabago yung mga budget at inilagay doon sa NEP, National Expenditure Program. May mga project na doon na pinag-aralan. ‘Yun tinanggal,” Erice alleged.
(The problem is that during the BARC, the small committee was brought back once again. That is where they modified the budget and inserted changes into the NEP, removing projects that had already been thoroughly studied.)
“Tapos hindi mo alam kung saan kumuha ng mga proyekto, kung saan kamay ng demonyo kinuha ‘yun at sinaksak doon sa budget. ‘Yan ‘yung isang problema,” he added.
(Then you no longer know where these new projects came from—out of nowhere, they were suddenly injected into the budget. That is the problem.)
Erice claimed there is a reluctance to be transparent regarding the budget process, particularly regarding where the additional P5-billion budget for the House of Representatives will go.
“Yung pondo ng ano, ng bilyong-bilyon na pondo ng House of Representatives, dinagdagan pa ng P5 billion. Eh, ang dami na namin savings. Eh, saan mapupunta 'yun? At hindi ayaw sabihin kung paano hinahati-hati ‘yun,” the congressman said.
(The billions of pesos in funding for the House of Representatives was increased by another P5 billion. We already have substantial savings. So where will that go? And they refuse to disclose how it is being divided.)
Erice urged transparency about how much each lawmaker receives, emphasizing that funds ought to be distributed in an equitable manner based on committee assignments and leadership positions. — BM, GMA News