Following bicameral approval and Senate ratification of the P6.793-trillion 2026 General Appropriations Act on December 29, Sen. Imee Marcos rejected signing the report, citing 'giniling' or soft pork barrel funds amounting to a P143.83-billion increase. She criticized diversions from flood control to politically motivated projects and P124.58-billion cuts to key infrastructure like the North-South Commuter Railway and Metro Manila Subway. Other lawmakers voiced similar reservations.
Sen. Imee Marcos declined to sign the bicameral report and Senate ratification of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), labeling it the 'giniling budget' due to excessive soft pork barrel allocations. 'I did not sign the ‘giniling budget.’ I recognize Congress’ power of the purse, but I did not sign the 2026 GAA bicam report and its ratification by the Senate,' she stated.
Marcos highlighted a P143.83-billion surge in funding for items like Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), farm-to-market roads, Presidential Assistance to Farmers, Fisherfolk and Families (PAFF), and Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), compared to the original National Expenditure Program. She flagged the irregular shift of flood control funds to projects 'linked to political incentives,' equating it to disguised pork barrel: 'Pork but ground pork, so as not to be very obvious.'
The budget also slashed P124.58 billion from flagship projects of the Department of Transportation and Department of Public Works and Highways, impacting the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and Metro Manila Subway—initiatives partly funded by Japan’s JICA.
Sen. Loren Legarda signed with reservations over unremitted sin tax revenues to PhilHealth and statutory shares from PCSO and PAGCOR. Rep. Isidro Ungab warned of setbacks to the mass transit system, while former Sen. Leila de Lima called the P243-billion unprogrammed appropriations in the House version unconstitutional.
This follows earlier bicameral reconciliation and optimism from Senate finance chair Sherwin Gatchalian about presidential approval amid pre-ratification transparency demands over district allocations. Part of the 2026 Philippine National Budget series.
