Philippines may end up borrowing billions over delayed foreign-assisted projects — solon

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Edgar Erice (Caloocan, 2nd District) said the Philippines may need to borrow around P260 billion due to delays in foreign-assisted projects, which are already partly funded by loans.

In a radio interview on Saturday, January 10, Erice used the Metro Manila Subway and the Philippine National Railways elevated railway as examples of projects delayed because they were placed under unprogrammed funds in the 2025 budget. This meant they could only be financed if excess government revenue was generated.

The minority lawmaker said the Metro Manila Subway was originally scheduled for completion in 2028. However, because it was placed under unprogrammed appropriations — combined with reported delays in right-of-way acquisition — the project’s timeline has reportedly been pushed to sometime in 2030.

"Pero ngayon dahil lang sa kalokohan at kagaguhan ng paglilipat ng pondo ng mga foreign-assisted projects, mahihirapan an naman si Juan Dela Cruz ng P260 billion," he told DWAR Abante Radyo.

(But now, because of the foolish and reckless handling of funds for foreign-assisted projects, ordinary Filipinos like Juan Dela Cruz will have to shoulder P260 billion)

In the 2026 national budget, P97.3 billion meant for foreign-assisted projects has been placed under unprogrammed appropriations. Erice, however, said it makes little sense to classify funds for projects that already have contracts with partner countries as unprogrammed.

He stressed that if a loan and contract have been secured for a project, the budget should be included under programmed funds.

"Ang hindi ko nga alam bakit nilagay yung P97 billion na unprogrammed funds. Wala pa bang napirmahang kontrata 'yan? Kung may napirmahan na kontrata 'yan, aba eh di ibig sabihin, dapat nasa programmed appropriations siya," he said.

(What I don’t understand is why the P97 billion was placed under unprogrammed funds. Hasn’t a contract been signed yet? If a contract has already been signed, then it should be included in the programmed appropriations.)

There are also foreign-assisted projects under the programmed appropriations of different government agencies. However, for another year, they will be facing deep budget cuts.

For example, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has been allocated only P17.7 billion for foreign-assisted projects, far below the P70 billion sought in the House-proposed budget.

One of the projects is the Cebu-Mactan Bridge (4th Bridge) and the Coastal Road Construction Project, which received P1.49 billion, including roughly P501 million from loan proceeds.

Another foreign-assisted project is the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project, with P1.82 billion in programmed funds, of which P1.26 billion comes from loan proceeds. This means the remaining amount is paid by the Philippine government as its required financial contribution to the projects. 

Meanwhile, under the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1, which was placed under unprogrammed appropriations in 2025, received just P20.4 billion — well below its requested funding. The North-South Commuter Railway system also saw its allocation halved to P28.8 billion.

All four projects are funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a multilateral agency that allows the government to secure loans for development projects.

Earlier this week, Erice and Rep. Leila de Lima (ML Party-list) asked the Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of the unprogrammed appropriations, filing a petition for certiorari and prohibition and seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the use of P150 billion in 2026.

"'Yung unprogrammed funds, 'yan ay unconstitutional, sapagkat wala naman financing. Pinaglalaruan 'yan kasi dapat 'yung Kongreso hindi pwede lumampas sa budget na inilaan," he said. 

(Those unprogrammed funds are unconstitutional because there’s no financing for them. It’s being manipulated, since Congress isn’t supposed to exceed the budget that has been allocated.)

Both Malacañang and the Department of Budget and Management have maintained the legality of unprogrammed appropriations, which have existed since 1989.

Under President Bongbong Marcos’ administration, however, these funds ballooned to roughly three times their previous level. In the 2026 budget, the unprogrammed funds were reduced to P150 billion following public outcry and criticism over potential corruption.