Budget reforms fall short in absence of participatory, accountability mechanisms

By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter

THE country’s budget process remained “opaque” even as the government introduced several transparency reforms last year, analysts said, as the recently ratified 2026 national budget awaits President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s approval.

“The general condition of the budget process remains opaque. Only a portion was televised. No efforts to enable participation and accountability in any part of the budget process,” Joy G. Aceron, convenor-director of transparency group G-Watch, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Lawmakers ratified the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026 last Dec. 29, with critics noting that government aid and unprogrammed funding remained prone to misuse and politization due to weak accountability mechanisms.

Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said that last year’s process showed more transparency, noting an increase in disclosures, stronger public messaging, and repeated invocations of openness.

“Yet transparency is not just about visibility alone. It is also about explainability,” he said in a Messenger chat.

“While procedures became more open, the rationale behind late-stage changes remained difficult for the public to fully grasp,” he added.

The deliberations for the 2026 budget have been marked by the implementation of several transparency measures, as a reaction from public outrage over a corruption scandal involving congressional insertions and opaque budget allocations.

These measures included the uploading of budget documents on online platforms, the livestreaming of bicameral proceedings, and the involvement of civil society in budget deliberations.

“In that sense, we saw improvements in procedural transparency, but deliberative transparency, such as clear articulation of trade-offs and policy priorities, remains incomplete,” Mr. Tapia said.

Ms. Aceron added transparency alone remains meaningless without responsiveness and accountability in budget deliberations.

“Transparency is only a means or tool,” she said, noting that transparency mechanisms serve only as tools if they don’t pave the way for civil society to influence decisions or hold legislators to account.

She added that last year’s budget process offered little room for public accountability, with allocations still prone to patronage and corruption.

“The budget continues to have allocations that perpetuate patronage, like the ayuda (social aid) programs and those prone to corruption, like the unprogrammed allocations,” she said.

Social aid programs like the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients remained funded under the 2026 national spending plan, at P51.65 billion.

The program was previously flagged as it required patients to secure guarantee letters from politicians to avail of assistance.

Unprogrammed allocations are now set at P243.4 billion close to the P250-billion funding under the National Expenditure Plan. These standby funds for pre-planned government projects or emergency contingencies have been flagged for potential sources of corruption.