An investigation by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) has uncovered that eleven incumbent congressmen from Cebu received a combined total of P55.77 billion in discretionary public works funds from 2023 to 2025. This substantial allocation was channeled through the Department of Public Works and Highways' (DPWH) "allocable" fund system, which critics label as a modern version of the outlawed pork barrel.
The Breakdown of Allocable Funds in Cebu
The funds are part of a nearly P1.2 trillion national "allocable" pool distributed in the first three years of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s administration. According to PCIJ's review of DPWH planning documents, the system operates as a current iteration of pork barrel, directly embedded in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and governed by a controversial mechanism known as the "BBM Parametric Formula."
The total amounts received by each Cebu district representative from 2023 to 2025 are as follows:
- 1st District – Rhea Mae Gullas: P8,330,889,000
- 2nd District – Edsel Galeos: P2,606,811,000
- 3rd District – Pablo John “PJ” Garcia: P6,050,292,000
- 4th District – Janice Salimbangon: P5,312,688,000
- 5th District – Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco: P6,634,590,000
- 6th District – Daphne Lagon: P3,958,590,000
- 7th District – Peter John Calderon: P3,924,201,000
- Cebu City 1st District - Rachel "Cutie" del Mar: P4,197,990,000
- Cebu City 2nd District - Eduardo "Edu" Rama: P5,750,946,000
- Mandaue City lone District - Lolypop Ouano-Dizon: P3,764,532,000
- Lapu-Lapu City lone District- Ma. Cynthia "Cindi" Chan: P5,238,642,000
PCIJ estimated these three-year totals by tripling the annual allocation for each district. These allocable funds represent a district-level budget assigned by the DPWH before the national budget's implementation. The executive branch sets the amount, and lawmakers select specific projects from a departmental "menu," which are then itemized directly into the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Controversy and Defense of the System
The PCIJ report highlights that the overall allocable pool is determined by the "BBM Parametric Formula," a budgeting scheme created by former DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral at the start of the Marcos administration. Former DPWH officials have described this formula as unclear and incomprehensible, yet it has governed the agency's budget since 2023.
Furthermore, the investigation found that even "non-allocable" projects—chosen through DPWH planning and engineering priorities—have been used by officials and contractors as a "free-for-all" for influence and alleged kickback schemes. Despite these findings, Congress retained the allocable system in the 2026 budget by shifting parts of the fund from flood-control items to other project types.
However, former Cebu Third District Rep. Pablo John “PJ” Garcia rejected PCIJ's characterization of the DPWH allocable funds as a modern form of pork barrel. In text messages to SunStar Cebu, Garcia asserted that his district's budget consistently followed what the DPWH submitted to the NEP.
"For my district, I can confidently say that whatever amount was in the NEP, substantially the same was passed in the GAA. And if there were changes, those changes were DPWH-initiated," Garcia stated.
He argued that pork barrel, as defined by the Supreme Court, requires lawmakers to intervene after the budget's passage—something he claims he did not do. "In my case, the amount there is exactly what the DPWH submitted and was already in the NEP. I didn't have a hand in the listing of projects," he added. Garcia suggested that watchdog groups conduct a line-by-line comparison between the NEP and the final GAA for each district for a more accurate review.
Implications and Ongoing Scrutiny
The revelation of the P55.77 billion allocation to Cebu lawmakers reignites the debate over post-Pork Barrel Reform Act spending mechanisms. The PCIJ's findings suggest that despite the Supreme Court's 2013 abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), discretionary funds with similar characteristics continue to flow through the national budget via systems like the DPWH's allocable funds.
The persistence of this system, coupled with reports of its misuse for non-allocable projects, points to enduring challenges in ensuring transparent and priority-driven public spending. As Congress moves forward with future budgets, the scrutiny on these allocable funds and the opaque BBM Parametric Formula that governs them is expected to intensify among transparency advocates and the public.
