Philippine business groups seek removal of almost ₱180 billion in budget additions
The coalition wants infrastructure items retained only if agencies can demonstrate technical support and readiness for implementation in 2027.
Almost 30 Philippine business organisations urged Congress on October 29 to strip almost ₱180 billion in infrastructure additions from the proposed 2027 national budget, questioning whether the projects had adequate supporting documentation.
The coalition includes the Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The additions involve projects assigned to the Department of Public Works and Highways, National Irrigation Administration, Department of Agriculture and Department of Health.
The groups said projects should qualify for funding only with feasibility studies or detailed engineering designs, alignment with agency master plans and agency confirmation that implementation could begin in 2027. They compared the missing documentation with additions to the 2023 to 2025 budgets linked to ghost flood control projects.
Budget watchdogs said some funding for the additions came from cuts to foreign-assisted projects, calamity funds, the EDSA Busway and health programmes. The coalition opposed those reductions and called for funding to return to National Expenditure Program levels unless Congress could justify each cut.
The Senate is still deliberating on the budget. Once its plenary debates end, a bicameral conference committee will meet to resolve differences between the versions passed by the two chambers.
