Watchdogs find ‘hard, soft and shadow pork’ in 2026 budget

With less than a week remaining before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to sign the government’s 2026 spending bill into law, budget watchers continued to push for changes in the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill. Budget watchdogs and civil society groups urged the President to trim more than P633 billion worth of supposed “pork barrel,”