Senior Deputy Minority Leader Edgar Erice has drawn a clear legal line: if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs the 2026 national budget without vetoing its unprogrammed funds, a petition before the Supreme Court of the Philippines is ready.

Erice’s argument is not about politics—it is about constitutionality.

Under the proposed ₱6.793-trillion 2026 national budget, Congress ratified ₱243 billion in unprogrammed appropriations—funds that will only be released if excess revenues or special funding sources materialize. For Erice, this mechanism itself raises constitutional red flags.

⚖️ Why Unprogrammed Funds Matter

Unprogrammed appropriations are, by design, conditional. They exist on paper but are not guaranteed to be funded. Erice argues that this structure undermines the constitutional principle that appropriations must be clear, definite, and enforceable.

He points out that even essential obligations—such as teachers’ retirement benefits and salary increases—should be placed under programmed funds, not parked in conditional categories.

In short:

What must be guaranteed by law should not be left to chance.

This is not the first budget to carry unprogrammed items. In fact, Erice himself acknowledges that the 2026 budget is more organized than the previous three years. Yet organization does not automatically equal constitutionality.

The Agila notices the pattern:

• Congress approves

• The Executive signs

• Questions arrive after the ink dries

This time, the warning comes before the signature.

If the President vetoes the unprogrammed funds, the issue ends in Malacañang.
If not, it moves to Padre Faura—where laws are weighed, not spun.

🧭 A Question Bigger Than One Budget

This debate is not about personalities. It is about precedent.

If unprogrammed funds become routine, they risk turning the national budget into a menu of maybes, instead of a binding plan for public service. The Constitution does not speak in estimates—it speaks in obligations.

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