ILOILO City – Iloilo’s congressional districts were allotted billions in “allocable” funds from the National Expenditure Program (NEP) between 2023 and 2025, according to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
It described the funds as a new form of pork barrel quietly embedded in the national budget.
Under the Marcos administration, PCIJ reported that the term “allocable” has evolved into what insiders now call “alok-cable,” implying that the funds are being “offered” or “handed” to with wide discretion.
“These are discretionary, politically motivated, and politically determined projects that crowd out more equitable and accountable public spending,” the PCIJ reported, adding that allocable funds are often shaped not by public need but by political considerations.
ALLOCABLE RECEIVED BY ILOILO (2023 – 2025)
* 1st District – P1,106,724,000 per year; P3,320,172,000 total
* 2nd District – P1,124,786,000 per year; P3,374,358,000 total
* 3rd District – P1,346,778,000 per year; P4,040,334,000 total
* 4th District – P1,284,212,000 per year; P3,852,636,000 total
* 5th District – P1,439,493,000 per year; P4,318,479,000 total
* Iloilo City Lone District – P1,351,563,000 per year; P4,054,689,000 total
According to PCIJ’s analysis of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) data — obtained from internal budgeting documents — District Engineers are first informed of each congressional district’s budget ceiling, after which infrastructure projects are selected.
These are consolidated by DPWH Undersecretary for Planning Maria Catalina Cabral, whose office endorses the final projects to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), stated the PCIJ.
Congressional involvement in these “allocable” funds opens the door to politically influenced project selection, it added.
The PCIJ report also linked the practice to underfunded or poorly planned infrastructure across the country.
Nationally, PCIJ reported that nearly P1.2 trillion in allocable funds for 2023–2025 were heavily concentrated in districts represented by figures close to the President, including Ilocos Norte 1st District’s Cong. Sandro Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte.
Since 2022 at the start of the Marcos administration, Iloilo’s 1st District is represented in Congress by Cong. Janette Garin; the 2nd District by Cong. Michael Gorriceta (until 2025); the 3rd District by Cong. Lorenz Defensor; the 4th District by Cong. Ferjenel Biron; the 5th District by Cong. Raul Tupas (until 2025); and the Lone District of Iloilo City by Cong. Julienne Baronda.
They could not be reached for comment as of this writing./PN
