House Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima has called for the removal of unprogrammed appropriations (UA) from the 2026 national budget.

De Lima pointed out that Associate Justice Raul Hernando, in his "separate concurring and dissenting opinion" on the PhilHealth case, emphasized that unprogrammed appropriations violate the Constitution.

"Vetoing a considerably significant amount—or any amount—in unprogrammed appropriations is NOT the point. It is still “shadow pork”..." says the lawmaker.

According to De Lima, UAs lack a clear source of funding, have no proper constitutional safeguards, and appear to transfer Congress’s spending power to the discretion of the executive branch.

"They lack definite and identifiable revenue sources, bypass constitutional safeguards, and surrender congressional power of the purse to executive discretion," she said.

She also noted that Executive Secretary and former Finance Secretary Ralph Recto acknowledged that there is little to no excess revenue available for unprogrammed appropriations.

The lawmaker further stated that given such limitations, it is unreasonable to include items or projects under unprogrammed appropriations.

De Lima added that projects that cannot be included due to limited fiscal space should instead be funded through special or supplemental appropriations approved by Congress.

In the approved 2026 national budget, at least seven out of ten unprogrammed appropriations were vetoed by President Bongbong Marcos, amounting to ₱92.5 billion.