Imee Marcos rejects 2026 GAA over “giniling budget”

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee R. Marcos said she refused to sign the bicameral conference committee report and Senate ratification of the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), citing major objections to budget cuts affecting key government infrastructure projects and the reallocation of funds to what she described as “soft pork” programs.

In an official statement, Marcos said she respects Congress’ constitutional power of the purse but could not support the final version of the 2026 national budget, which she labeled a “giniling budget.”

The senator said ₱124.58 billion was slashed from the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for flagship government projects, including foreign-assisted initiatives of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Among the affected projects were the North–South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and the Metro Manila Subway, which Marcos noted are not flood control projects.

Marcos further criticized the transfer of removed flood control funds to several social and local assistance programs, which she collectively referred to as “soft pork.”

These include the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), Philippine Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAFF), Farm-to-Market Roads (FMR), and the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF).

According to Marcos, these programs received an additional ₱143.83 billion beyond what was proposed in the NEP.

“Whenever soft pork is mentioned, I cannot help but think that it is still pork barrel,” Marcos said in Filipino, adding that the budget was merely “ground pork—still pork, just processed to be less noticeable.”

“For these reasons, I chose not to sign,” she said.