The People's Budget Coalition (PBC), a network of Philippine watchdog and research groups, said it has identified P970 billion in red-flag items within the government's proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, citing risks of political patronage, waste, and unvetted infrastructure insertions. The flagged amount is equivalent to roughly 13.5% of the entire proposed spending program.

The coalition had earlier flagged P735.56 billion in the 2027 National Expenditure Program — the executive's proposed spending plan submitted to Congress — as vulnerable to political intervention. It revised the figure upward on Friday after identifying additional infrastructure items that lacked project documentation.

"We are now flagging a total of P970 billion in terms of red flags in our 2027 budget," Hans Gonzalez, technical analyst at the coalition, told a media briefing.

"We have amended this figure. We note in particular an increase in hard pork, hard pork meaning infrastructure, from P483 billion to around P200 billion higher. Our original figure of P735 billion in red flags… has shot up to P970 billion," he said.

According to the PBC, the P970-billion total includes P680 billion in "hard pork," consisting of infrastructure projects at risk of political insertions without complete project attachments.

Another P140 billion falls under "soft pork," earmarked for what the coalition described as patronage-driven social assistance, including P58.5 billion in local government support funds and anti-insurgency barangay programs. Unprogrammed appropriations, which the government can release only once revenue collections exceed targets or new financing is secured, are categorized by the group as "shadow pork" and account for P112 billion, while budget allocations for offices — including the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice-President, and Congress — make up P38 billion.

The assessment comes as Congress begins work on the proposed 2027 spending measure, with the House of Representatives conducting plenary deliberations. The House opened debates on the P7.2-trillion General Appropriations Bill on Sept. 15. Under the constitutional process, the bill remains open to amendment while deliberations are ongoing and must still pass both chambers of Congress in identical form before it can be signed into law.

The proposed budget represents 21.7% of gross domestic product and is P407 billion, or 6%, higher than the 2026 budget, according to the Department of Budget and Management. The increase reflects mandatory spending requirements and existing obligations, including a higher National Tax Allotment for local governments and salary adjustments for civilian employees and military personnel.

"The proposed P7.2-trillion 2027 national budget is not yet final, and the People's Budget Coalition (PBC) is calling on the House of Representatives to use the remaining stages of the budget process to address questionable allocations, protect essential services, and ensure meaningful public scrutiny before the budget is passed," the coalition said.

Fiscal Outlook and Debt Pressures

"Our economic managers are losing credibility on almost every front in terms of growth, debt, expenditure, revenue, and deficit," Mr. Gonzalez said.

"Our room in our budget is shrinking further because of the bad fiscal and economic choices that we make, which is also reflected in this budget," he added. "If our government had P100 to spend, only P36 of that would even be up for discussion."

Gross domestic product growth reached 2.6% in the first six months of 2026, falling short of the government's original target range of 5% to 6% as well as its revised target of 3.5% to 4.5%. The coalition noted that every percentage point of missed economic growth reduces government revenues by roughly P150 billion.

"The budget's allocable share has declined from around P40 per P100 in 2022 to about P36 today. Meanwhile, debt has reached 66% of GDP, while first-half 2026 growth stood at 2.6%, below the revised 3.5–4.5% target. Projected 2027 interest payments of P1.11 trillion would also exceed the entire education sector budget," the coalition said.

The PBC is calling for greater transparency around fiscal targets, assumptions, revisions, and risks to the government's revenue program," it added.

The coalition's findings echo earlier assessments by the state's own budget research arm. The Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) has previously cautioned that the proposed budget might remain financeable under baseline assumptions, while stressing that financeability should not be equated with ample fiscal space or long-term sustainability. It also urged Congress to weigh contingency plans in case revenues undershoot targets.

Source: BusinessWorld | Reporting by Erika Mae P. Sinaking