Manila, Jan. 5 -- Malacanang on Monday said the 2026 PHP6.793-trillion national budget is free from pork barrel provisions, stressing stricter evaluation, conditional fund releases, and tighter safeguards compared with previous budgets.

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto made the clarification amid claims from some lawmakers that the approved spending plan still contains so-called "soft pork" or "giniling (ground) pork."

Asked whether Malacanang considers the 2026 budget pork barrel-free, Recto said legislators no longer have control once the budget enters the execution phase.

"Sa tingin namin, pork barrel-free dahil hindi naman puwedeng makialam ang legislative pagdating ng executing the budget at purely executive function na iyan pagdat...