MANILA, Philippines — While the government did not heed the call of budget watchdogs to eliminate unprogrammed appropriations (UA) in the national budget, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it kept the controversial appropriations at “historic low” in the 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP). Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon on Tuesday said that at P119.984 billion, the proposed UA for next year is “the lowest amount nominally of the UAs since 2019, and only accounts for 1.5 percent of the total expenditure program—the lowest ratio since 1991.” The proposed UA by De Leon was even lower than the […]...Keep on reading: Marcos seeks ‘historic low’ P120-B unprogrammed funds for 2027