By Adrian H. Halili, reporter
Analysts said the country's budget process remained “opaque” even though the government introduced several transparency reforms last year, as the recently approved 2026 national budget by President Ferdinand R. Awaiting Marcos, Jr.'s approval.
“The general state of the budget process remains opaque. Only a portion was broadcast. No effort was made to enable participation and accountability in any part of the budget process,” Joey G. Aceron, convener-director of transparency group G-Watch, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
Lawmakers last December 29 ratified a P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, with critics saying weak accountability mechanisms leave government aid and unprogrammed funding vulnerable to abuse and politicization.
Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said last year's process saw greater transparency, increased disclosures, stronger public messaging and repeated calls for openness.
“Yet transparency isn't just about visibility. It's also about the ability to explain,” he said in a Messenger chat.
“Although the processes became more open, the reasoning behind the late changes remained difficult for the public to fully understand,” he said.
Deliberations for the 2026 budget have been marked by the implementation of several transparency measures as a response to public outcry over the corruption scandal involving Congressional involvement and opaque budget allocations.
These measures include uploading of budget documents on online platforms, livestreaming of bicameral proceedings and participation of civil society in budget deliberations.
“In that sense, we have seen improvements in procedural transparency, but deliberative transparency, such as clear articulation of trade-offs and policy priorities, remains incomplete,” Mr Tapia said.
Ms Asron said transparency without accountability and accountability in budget deliberations is meaningless.
“Transparency is only a means or a tool,” he said, noting that transparency mechanisms only work as tools if they do not pave the way for civil society to influence decisions or hold legislators to account.
He said there was little room for public accountability in last year's budget process, with allocations still prone to patronage and corruption.
“The budget continues to make allocations that sustain conservation, e.g. Help (social assistance) programs and programs prone to corruption, such as unprogrammed allocations,” she said.
Social assistance programs such as medical assistance to poor and economically challenged patients remained funded at P51.65 billion under the 2026 National Expenditure Plan.
The program was previously flagged because it required patients to secure letters of guarantee from politicians in order to receive assistance.
The unprogrammed allocation is now set at P243.4 billion, close to the P250-billion funding under the national expenditure plan. These additional funds for pre-planned government projects or emergency contingencies have been earmarked as potential sources of corruption.