Senate Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian said a major corruption loophole under the Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) has been eliminated in the proposed 2026 national budget approved by the Bicameral Conference Committee.
Gatchalian referred to the removal of the Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs (SAGIP), which previously contained lump-sum allocations for infrastructure projects and social services.
He noted that SAGIP had been used in the past to house large lump-sum funds, including those for flood control projects, which later became the subject of corruption investigations. Gatchalian said the removal of SAGIP from the 2026 budget fulfills the commitment to close this vulnerability.
With the revised structure, Gatchalian stressed that the Unprogrammed Appropriations will no longer serve as a source of corruption, clarifying that the UA itself is not illegal.
SAGIP was allocated more than ₱50 billion in 2023, ₱225 billion in 2024, and ₱160 billion in 2025. In 2024, flood control projects amounting to ₱86.93 billion were included under the fund.
Gatchalian explained that other components will remain under the UA, such as foreign-assisted projects that require counterpart funding from the government. These projects, he said, are placed under UA because negotiations are still ongoing or contracts have yet to be finalized, making them uncertain obligations.
He added that it would be fiscally imprudent to include such tentative projects under programmed funds. Other items under the UA include additional funding for the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program.
