Key facts
- Budget watchdogs found project coordinates plotted in Nigeria, Algeria, the Sahara Desert, Benham Rise and the Celebes Sea.
- The People's Budget Coalition said the House introduced 7,054 projects worth P190 billion out of 18,600 line items.
- P15 billion of farm-to-market road and irrigation projects had no publicly posted attachments, per the coalition.
- Senate finance panel chairperson JV Ejercito pledged to remove House-version projects lacking supporting documents.
- Nearly 6,000 multipurpose halls were added nationwide, with only around 2,000 having coordinates, the Daily Tribune reported.
Independent budget watchdogs examining the Philippines' proposed 7.2 trillion peso (US$114 billion) 2027 national budget found infrastructure projects mapped to improbable locations, including a road plotted in Nigeria, a government building in the Sahara Desert and a road in the sea near Brunei, Reuters reported on November 6, 2026.
The People's Budget Coalition, an advocacy group, said the House of Representatives introduced 7,054 individual projects worth P190 billion out of 18,600 project line items, according to a BusinessWorld report. Of that amount, P15 billion of farm-to-market road and irrigation projects had no publicly posted attachments, the group said.
Party-list Rep. Leila Norma M. de Lima, senior deputy minority leader, told BusinessWorld the Senate and the bicameral conference committee should scrutinize the amendments, saying the absence of documents could allow irregularities. She said she voted against the House-approved budget, which she called patronage-driven.
Senate finance panel chairperson JV Ejercito pledged to remove from the House version projects lacking supporting documents, the Daily Tribune reported. Under the National Expenditure Program, projects must be backed by a program of work, a Regional Development Council certification and a master plan.
Budget monitors using geographic information systems found nearly 6,000 multipurpose halls added nationwide, with only around 2,000 having coordinates, the Daily Tribune reported. Funding for each hall ranges from P2 million to P50 million, and 10 cases showed the same project funded continuously for 10 years.
The Supreme Court earlier voided parts of the 2024-2026 budgets, ruling that congressional increases to unprogrammed appropriations and special funds exceeded constitutional limits, including a P449.5-billion increase in 2024 and a P17.99-billion addition in 2025, BusinessWorld reported.