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'THE BUDGET SHOULD NOT BE A TOOL IN AID OF THE 2025 ELECTIONS'

Former Senate President Franklin Drilon has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to classify all Congress-introduced amendments in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) as "For Later Release" (FLR) to safeguard billions of pesos from being used for election-related purposes.

Drilon's call came after he observed that Marcos' vetoes of certain items in the national budget were largely "cosmetic," with little impact on the "pork barrel" allocations, particularly in the bloated budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

"Sa aking tingin, ang hindi naayos yung pork barrel ng mga kongresista. Malaki pa rin po ang pork barrel na naiwan sa GAA," Drilon said in a radio interview. "Walang masyadong pagbabago. Malaki pa rin ang pork barrel sa DPWH."

In a separate statement on New Year's Day, Drilon emphasized the need for vigilance, stressing that the 2025 budget is considered an election-year budget.

"The budget should not be a tool in aid of the 2025 elections," he stated.

Drilon proposed that all Congress-introduced amendments falling under "pork barrel" be placed under FLR to ensure the funds are not used for electoral purposes. This would also ensure compliance with the Omnibus Election Code, which bans the release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds for public works and the delivery of construction materials starting March 28, 45 days before Election Day.

The FLR mechanism, practiced by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) during the previous administration, requires Congress-introduced amendments not part of the President's National Expenditure Program (NEP) to meet specific conditions before funds can be released.

Drilon's proposal aims to ensure that government spending does not become a political tool. He pointed out that while PHP26 billion worth of DPWH projects were vetoed, the total amount of congressional insertions still stands at a significant PHP347 billion, with PHP263.9 billion remaining.

Drilon criticized the President's vetoing of PHP168 billion in Unprogrammed Fund (UF) allocations, calling it "cosmetic" since these standby appropriations are only available if additional revenues are generated. He warned that the veto will not provide a source of financing for key projects like the PHP74.4 billion PhilHealth subsidy and the PHP50 billion allocation for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which may remain unfunded.

"The veto of unprogrammed activities will not create a source of financing for de-funded projects like the PhilHealth subsidy. These projects remain unfunded and will likely have to wait until the 2026 budget," Drilon said. "How will the real priority projects get funded? If they are still in the Unprogrammed Fund, they may get funded only if the government generates new taxes or collects excess revenues-an unlikely scenario."

Drilon stressed that the classification of pork barrel amendments under FLR is necessary to prevent the misuse of public funds for electioneering and to maintain fiscal discipline.

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