Current and former congressmen in Cordillera got over P44B in allocable funds (2023–2025); Apayao, Abra, and Kalinga with highest shares – PCIJ report

Tabuk City, Kalinga — Billions in “allocables,” or funds given to lawmakers before any project is named or listed, were received by representatives of the different provinces in the Cordillera from fiscal years 2023 to 2025, according to a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, a non-profit media organization specializing in investigative reporting, described allocable funds as budget allocations for district lawmakers under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that resemble the former pork barrel system—though with key differences.

The difference between the old pork barrel and the allocables, as cited by PCIJ, is that the total amounts are determined by the executive branch using a little-understood “BBM Parametric Formula,” instead of by legislators, although lawmakers retain the authority to decide how the amounts will be spent.

Moreover, unlike the old pork barrel, allocables are itemized and approved by Congress before the budget is enacted, not afterward. Despite the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling declaring the pork barrel unconstitutional, PCIJ reports that allocables have become its new form beginning in 2023.

From fiscal years 2023 to 2025, congressmen in the Cordillera collectively received P44,306,559,000 in allocable funds.

Of this amount, Apayao Lone District Representative Eleanor B. Begtang received the highest share with P9,374,901,000—or an average of P3,114,967,000 per year.

She was followed by former Abra Lone District Representative Menchie B. Bernos with P8,331,729,000 (P2,767,243,000/year); former Kalinga Congressman Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang with P6,842,106,000 (P2,270,702,000/year); Ifugao Congressman Solomon R. Chungalao with P5,679,864,000 (P1,883,288,000/year); Benguet Congressman Eric G. Yap with P5,503,731,000 (P1,824,577,000/year); Mountain Province Congressman Maximo Y. Dalog Jr. with P5,041,359,000 (P1,670,453,000/year); and former Baguio City Congressman Mark Go with P3,532,869,000 (P1,167,623,000/year).

Meanwhile, at the national level, P1.2 trillion in allocable funds went to President Marcos’ son, Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, and his cousin, Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who received P15.8 billion and P14.4 billion, respectively. PCIJ has tagged the two as the new “pork barrel kings.”

PCIJ also examined non-allocables, which are supposed to fund national-level projects such as major highways, large flood control structures, and foreign-assisted programs. However, the organization found that some of these projects do not appear to be truly national in scope but seem to be insertions, extra funds quietly added by lawmakers or officials to influence contractors or push their preferred budgets.

The report has since raised public concern, with citizens questioning whether these funds truly went into legitimate projects and how much public money may have been wasted.