By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Marcos administration plans to replenish the P107.23 billion taken from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) and transferred to the national government, but questions are being raised over why the first P57-billion repayment is being placed under unprogrammed appropriations.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the government will restore the PDIC funds over two years, beginning with P57 billion in 2027 and completing the remaining P50.23 billion in 2028.
Recto confirmed that the second tranche will be proposed in the 2028 National Expenditure Program, although the government has yet to determine whether it will be classified as programmed or unprogrammed spending.
He said the decision would depend on the government’s revenue position at that time.
The proposed 2027 budget specifically sets aside P57 billion in unprogrammed appropriations for the restoration of PDIC’s fund balances.
That represents slightly more than half of the P107.23 billion transferred to the national treasury, leaving another P50.23 billion to be returned the following year.
PDIC transferred the funds to the Bureau of the Treasury in January 2025 following a congressional mandate under the 2024 General Appropriations Act and an opinion from the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.
The planned restoration has now become part of the debate over the proper use of unprogrammed appropriations in the national budget.
Cielo Magno, professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics and former finance undersecretary, said the two-year repayment plan could be understood given the government’s limited fiscal space.
But she questioned the decision to put the first tranche under UA.
Magno said the restoration should instead be included among programmed appropriations because that portion of the budget carries actual funding.
Under the current proposal, the P57 billion would only become available once the conditions governing unprogrammed appropriations are satisfied.
She warned that failure to provide a guaranteed funding source could undermine the government’s commitment to replenish the PDIC funds.
Magno said she was willing to go to court to compel the return of the money if the government fails to honor its obligation.
Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon defended the government’s treatment of unprogrammed appropriations, saying the category should not be mistaken for unrestricted spending authority.
He explained that UA can only be released when specific conditions and funding triggers are met.
“Unprogrammed does not mean unaccounted for. It is not a blank check, and it’s certainly not an unlimited spending authority,” De Leon said during the 2026 EJAP Economic Forum.
The proposed UA for 2027 totals P111.98 billion, significantly below the P150.91 billion provided for the current year.
The amount is also the lowest proposed at the National Expenditure Program level since 2019 and accounts for only about 1.6 percent of total proposed government spending.
The proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 is now before Congress, where lawmakers can still modify the administration’s spending priorities.
The P57-billion PDIC restoration will therefore face further scrutiny as senators and representatives examine the proposed unprogrammed appropriations.
The dispute centers on a fundamental issue: whether the government’s commitment to return PDIC’s money should be backed by guaranteed funding or remain dependent on revenues becoming available during budget execution.
For PDIC and its depositors, the difference is more than a budget classification—it determines how certain the promised restoration actually is.
ia/xf
