Manila, Oct. 8 -- Malacanang on Wednesday said the government cannot fully scrap unprogrammed appropriations (UA), noting that these funds are necessary for emergencies and unforeseen expenses.

This came after Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno urged Congress to set the 2026 unprogrammed appropriations to zero, citing the fund's ballooning share in the proposed national budget.

"Parang hindi po ata maaaring mangyari yan. Maraming nagiging programa ang gobyerno. Magagamit po ito sa mga emergency situations, but tandaan po natin, hindi naman po ito nagagamit sa basta-basta (That may not be possible. The government has many programs, and these funds can be used for emergency situations. But remember, these funds are not spent indiscrimina...