Baronda defends budget insertions, cites Sen. Drilon’s Iloilo projects

ILOILO CITY — Iloilo City Rep. Julienne “JamJam” Baronda said there is nothing inherently wrong with lawmakers inserting items into the budget proposals of government agencies, provided the projects are legitimate and properly implemented.

“There is no problem with that. There is nothing wrong with budget insertions, provided the funds are used properly,” Baronda said in an interview Friday, Nov. 6.

Baronda cited former Senate President Franklin Drilon’s admission that he made insertions in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget during his tenure in the Senate.

In February, Drilon said budget insertions were the mechanism he used to fund and conceptualize key projects in Iloilo, including the Iloilo Sunset Boulevard.

The 5-kilometer, four-lane road runs along the north bank of the Iloilo River through Iloilo City and Oton, and opened to vehicles in January 2025.

Drilon has also warned that congressional insertions remain prone to abuse. In September 2025, amid the Senate inquiry into anomalous flood control projects, he called for lawmakers to stop making insertions altogether.

Budget insertions refer to additional projects or funding allocations that lawmakers introduce during legislative deliberations on the national budget, beyond those proposed by government agencies in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

In a joint statement Oct. 29, more than 30 business and civil society groups criticized alleged insertions in the House-approved version of the proposed 2027 national budget. They singled out the more than PHP 180 billion in additional DPWH funding covering about 6,000 projects.

The groups said the DPWH additions were made through the House Budget Amendments and Review Subcommittee.

They also warned that insertions in previous budgets had led to ghost and substandard flood control projects, the focus of a corruption scandal that erupted in 2025.

Baronda said the insertions she pursued were meant to fund ongoing projects that were not included in the NEP, which the Department of Budget and Management prepares and submits to Congress.

“If there were insertions or additions to my district’s budget, these were intended to complete ongoing projects that had not been provided funding in the NEP. During budget deliberations, we raised these concerns and pushed for government agencies that needed assistance,” she said.

Among the projects she sought funding for was a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) delineation study of creeks in Iloilo City, which had been requested repeatedly in previous years.

She said she raised the matter with the DENR secretary after the funding request was not granted.

Baronda said she hopes the PHP 6 million to PHP 9 million requested for the study will be included, following the House of Representatives’ approval of the PHP 7.2 trillion General Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2027.

The House passed the measure, House Bill 10858, on third and final reading in October by a vote of 281-13, with one abstention.

The proposed budget is now under scrutiny in the Senate, where the finance committee is chaired by Sen. JV Ejercito.

She said the priority now should be ensuring the proper implementation of funded projects and making budget information accessible to the public.

“What is important now is that we focus on and ensure implementation. That is why we want to open the budget to all city residents so they can see the proposed solutions and offer their suggestions. This will allow us to come up with better solutions instead of blaming one another for the causes of the problems,” she added.