Recent news headlines in the Philippines have spotlighted worsening weather events amid the climate crisis. As the country ranks among the most climate-vulnerable in the world [1], ordinary Filipinos often bear the brunt of El Niño and super typhoons, while gearing up for the intensified El Niño, which will bring reduced rainfall and affect food supply in the months ahead [2].

Just this July to August, the onslaught of Tropical Cyclones “Maymay” and “Luis” [3], enhanced by the southwest monsoon (Habagat), affected roughly 7.7 million individuals, or 2.2 million families, across 10 regions. The heavy rain caused floods in communities, especially in provinces like Bulacan, with more than ₱40 billion worth of 668 flood control projects [4], which was declared to be under a state of calamity and remains flooded and recovering to date [5].

During the recent presentation of the ₱7.2-trillion national budget 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), ₱692.7 billion, or roughly 9.62% of the proposed budget, was allocated to climate adaptation or mitigation, as tagged by government agencies using the Climate Change Expenditure Tagging system. While this increased by a measly 0.07% from the previous year, the Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines views the budget as greenwashed, grey infrastructure-heavy, prone to corruption, and greatly insufficient to respond to the realities faced by communities most impacted by the climate crisis. 

Greenwashed and Inflated Infrastructure Spending 

An overwhelming 83% of the nation’s climate budget is swallowed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) [6], sidelining agencies with vital mandates in environmental protection and climate adaptation, like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agriculture (DA). This deep structural imbalance starves essential natural resource protection and food security programs, directing funds toward concrete over conservation. The government has also provided a 73% budget increase for the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) [7], the government agency pushing the widely opposed Pax Silica project in New Clark City, which threatens to displace Aeta communities [8].

The total climate figure is little more than an inflated illusion. The DPWH admitted in a recent congressional hearing that it tags whole infrastructure projects as climate adaptation, artificially padding the numbers without accounting for the actual contribution to climate resilience. Crippled by a lack of technical capacity across government agencies, the CCET system fails to measure true value-added impact, leaving the public with inflated claims and meaningless metrics. 

Infra-heavy climate response that is prone to corruption

The ‘climate budget’ focuses heavily on traditional concrete-and-steel grey-infrastructure projects that, rather than being climate-positive, may instead increase carbon emissions and harm nearby communities. These infrastructure projects are also considered as pork barrel items, as they are susceptible to becoming a vehicle for corruption and political patronage. Many of these projects strongly feature in the national economic development agenda, ensuring heavy political backing and prioritization. Despite the constant framing of these projects for “progress,” recent infrastructure projects have been in the headlines for actively bringing about displacement and environmental destruction, instead of genuine climate adaptation.

Projects such as the Southern Access Link Expressway (SALEX) [9], Pasig River Expressway (PAREX) [10], and other Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded bridges like the Bataan-Cavite Interconnected Bridge (BCIB) [11] have been heavily protested by communities and environmentalists due to the threats of displacement to communities and environmental destruction upon their construction. Last May, the cutting of more than 200 trees, including hundred-year-old Narra trees along Quirino Avenue, sparked public outrage. The trees were cut to give way for the 40.62-kilometer SALEX, which, upon completion, will make Metro Manila and coastal cities from Cavite to Bulacan more car-centric, eventually contributing to an increase of vehicular emissions. 

The 2027 NEP also reintroduces ₱107 billion worth of flood control projects, despite the lack of accountability from DPWH and the national government regarding the widespread corruption in flood control projects exposed last year [12]. Many flood control projects were exposed to either be nonexistent/”ghost”, substandard, or ineffective, leaving communities defenseless and drowning [13]. Funds instead flooded into the pockets of politicians and contractors, the most powerful of whom, the “big fish,” still remain on the loose. For DENR to reintroduce flood control projects without sharing any results of a thorough audit, investigation, or review of the corruption-riddled flood control projects is to merely continue a cycle of corruption from which it benefits.

The prioritization of grey infrastructure has overshadowed the dire need for genuine and community-based climate adaptation. Funding for core environmental protection, including ecosystem stability, marine protection, and other nature-based solutions, dropped sharply from ₱8.2 billion in 2026 to just ₱2.8 billion in 2027. This glaring shift shows the government’s prioritization of false solutions over ensuring the Filipinos’ safety amid climate-induced disasters. 

Compounding the problem, the DENR’s issuance of permits to large-scale mining and renewable energy projects in key protected areas also exacerbates the effects of disasters in communities. 

Rather than addressing these policy failures, the state also shifts the blame onto the public, attributing severe flooding to improper waste disposal by ordinary citizens. By capitalizing on this narrative, the state has actively pushed for waste-to-energy projects like the PHP 26 billion WTE incinerator in Tondo, Manila, which carries high risks of environmental destruction, displacement, and rights violations [14]. 

Detached from Filipino realities and climate losses

Ultimately, the proposed climate budget is completely detached from Filipino realities and the true scale of climate losses. It is severely outmatched by the World Bank’s projected annual climate losses of approximately ₱398.2 billion, equivalent to 1.2% of the country’s GDP [15]. This exposes a massive gap in genuine climate adaptation, in terms of preparedness and recovery. The budget is presented as improving Filipino resilience but will have the opposite effect, creating the calamities we have seen repeat year after year.

Rather than bridging this shortfall, the 2027 NEP shows that the administration has enacted deep cuts to essential social defunding social services such as education and health, leaving the public scraps of what was supposed to be the priority. According to the IBON Foundation, the proposed budget overall shows the administration’s continued prioritization of infrastructure, defense, and debt servicing. 

Summary 

Ultimately, the ₱692.7 billion climate budget falls short not just in sufficiency but in ensuring that the lives, rights, and interests of the Filipino people are prioritized. It is merely a budget mainly for grey infrastructure. 

The Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines (CEC), demands the immediate review and reallocation of infrastructure pork toward genuine, community-centered initiatives that ensure climate disaster resilience and social services. It is also unacceptable that confidential funds and terror mechanisms involved in criminalizing environmental defenders, such as the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), will receive a 20.5% increase in budget (₱9.74 billion) [16], while vital social services remain gutted. 

CEC joins Filipinos in continuing to hold the Marcos administration accountable for systemic corruption, climate profiteering, and repeated failure to safeguard the Filipino people from disasters of its own doing. The public must remain relentless in rejecting greenwashed, profit-driven budget schemes, and demand a truly transparent, people-centered budget that serves to uplift Filipinos from the worst of the climate crisis. 

References

[1] Inquirer.net. (2025, November 13). Philippines ranks among world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. Inquirer.net USA. https://usa.inquirer.net/183419/philippines-ranks-among-worlds-most-climate-vulnerable-nations

[2] Manila Standard. (2026, April 16). PAGASA warns Super El Niño likely in end-2026. Manila Standard. https://manilastandard.net/news/weather/314727784/pagasa-warns-super-el-nino-likely-in-end-2026.html

[3] Daily Tribune. (2026, August 28). NDRRMC: Storm damage tops P78B. Daily Tribune. https://tribune.net.ph/2026/08/27/ndrrmc-storm-damage-tops-p78b

[4] GMA Integrated News. (2025, August 22). Top 20 provinces with the most flood control projects. GMA News Online. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/956384/top-20-provinces-with-the-most-flood-control-projects/story/

[5] Provincial Government of Bulacan. (2026, August 20). Bulacan declares province-wide state of calamity amid widespread flooding. Official Website of the Provincial Government of Bulacan. https://bulacan.gov.ph/bulacan-declares-province-wide-state-of-calamity-amid-widespread-flooding/

[6] BusinessWorld. (2026, August 13). Climate groups flag budget tagging, allocation concerns. BusinessWorld. https://bworldonline.com/the-nation/2026/08/13/769995/climate-groups-flag-budget-tagging-allocation-concerns/

[7] BNC. (2026, August 14). Gov’t won’t spend public funds for Pax Silica Hub — BCDA. BNC Bilyonaryo News Channel. https://bnc.bilyonaryo.com/govt-wont-spend-public-funds-for-pax-silica-hub-bcda/news/

[8] The UK Voice. (2025, December 20). Filipino Aeta tribe faces displacement as New Clark City rises. The UK Voice News. https://theukvoice.com/politics/filipino-aeta-tribe-faces-displacement-as-new-clark-city-rises/

[9] SMC Infrastructure. (n.d.). SALEX (Southern Access Link Expressway). SMC Infrastructure. https://smcinfrastructure.com.ph/our-businesses/our-businesses/tollways/salex

[10] Philstar Life. (2021, October 16). What you need to know about the Pasig River Expressway. Philstar Life. https://philstarlife.com/news-and-views/444729-pasig-river-expressway-feature

[11] Construction Review Online. (2025, November 25). ADB commits $850 million for interconnected bridge and infrastructure innovation in the Philippines. Construction Review Online. https://constructionreviewonline.com/adb-commits-850-million-for-interconnected-bridge-and-infrastructure-innovation-in-the-philippines/

[12] GMA Integrated News. (2026, August 11). P107.4B earmarked for flood control projects in proposed 2027 budget. GMA News Online. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/998109/107-4b-earmarked-for-flood-control-projects-in-proposed-2027-budget/story/

[13] ABS-CBN News. (2025, August 15). Some flood control projects incomplete despite finished contracts: Marcos. ABS-CBN News. https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/15/some-flood-control-projects-incomplete-despite-finished-contracts-marcos-1656

[14] Manila Standard. (2025, February 14). P26-b waste-to-energy facility eyed in Tondo. Manila Standard. https://manilastandard.net/?p=314557991

[15] World Bank Group. (2022). Philippines country climate and development report. World Bank Open Knowledge Repository. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/1ea2dd11-0471-5be6-b970-e1da55591fa0/content

[16] Manila Times. (2026, August 13). Tinio slams 2027 budget as ‘anti-poor, anti-people’. The Manila Times. https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/08/13/news/national/tinio-slams-2027-budget-as-anti-poor-anti-people/2404299