MANILA — A civil-society coalition reviewing the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 has identified ₱735.56 billion in spending that it says warrants closer scrutiny because of potential political discretion and transparency risks.
The figure is an assessment by the People’s Budget Coalition, not a finding by the Commission on Audit, a court or another government investigative body that the funds are illegal or improperly allocated. It represents about 10.2 percent of the proposed budget.
The coalition classifies ₱140.07 billion as “soft pork,” referring largely to assistance programs it considers vulnerable to political mediation; ₱483.51 billion as “hard pork,” covering infrastructure spending it says requires tighter monitoring; and ₱111.98 billion as “shadow pork,” its term for unprogrammed appropriations. Those labels are the coalition’s, not official government budget categories.
Among the programs cited are social assistance, medical aid and emergency-employment funds. The programs are established government mechanisms with eligibility rules, and the coalition’s concern centers on how access and beneficiary selection are administered rather than on their legality.
Infrastructure makes up the largest share of the flagged amount. The administration is proposing ₱643.95 billion for the Department of Public Works and Highways, up 21.29 percent from its 2026 allocation. The Department of Budget and Management says projects are screened for readiness, procurement requirements, implementation capacity and consistency with development priorities.
DBM says the ₱111.98 billion in unprogrammed appropriations is standby authority that may be released only when specified funding conditions are met. It says the amount is the lowest proposed level since 2019. The coalition has questioned such appropriations, but the Supreme Court has not declared them categorically unconstitutional.
