ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Goodbye guarantee letters? Suansing says 2026 budget bans political hand in 'ayuda' programs

Goodbye guarantee letters? Suansing says 2026 budget bans political hand in 'ayuda' programs

Published Dec 29, 2025 12:19 pm  |  Updated Dec 29, 2025 03:27 pm

At A Glance

  • A provision in the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2026 prohibits the distribution of guarantee letters (GLs) and other cash and non-cash assistance or "ayuda" programs that have the stigma of being "political" in nature.
Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing (PPAB)
Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing (PPAB)


A provision in the P6.793-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) for 2026 prohibits the distribution of guarantee letters (GLs) and other cash and non-cash assistance or "ayuda" programs that have the stigma of being "political" in nature.
This was confirmed by House Committee of Appropriations Chairperson Nueva Ecija 1st district Rep. Mikaela Angela "Mika" Suansing ahead of the ratification and expected enactment of the 2026 national budget Monday, Dec. 29.
“May special provision po, if I’m not mistaken po Section 78 ng General Provisions [ng GAB], yun po yung patungkol sa prohibition on political involvement in the distribution of cash and other types of financial needs,” she said in a chance interview on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 28.
(There's a special provision, if I'm not mistaken it's Section 78 of the General Provisions of the GAB, that covers the prohibition on political involvement in the distribution of cash and other types of financial needs.)
GLs--which are as good as cash--are given to indigent Filipinos under the Department of Health's (DOH) Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) program, now known as Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP).
Suansing said this prohibition includes not just GLs for indigent patients under the MAIFIP but also the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“So nakapaloob na po yun at saklaw niya po lahat ng klase ng cash and non-cash financial assistance (So it's indicated there and it covers all kinds of cash and non-cash financial assistance),” Suansing added.
The funding for these programs will now be coursed directly to the concerned departments.
Critics claim that these ayuda programs foster patronage politics since they entail the involvement of politicians.
On Sunday, members of the Bicameral Conference Committee signed the bicam report on P6.793-trillion outlay for next year. This paved the way for the measure's ratification by both the House of Representatives and Senate during their respective plenary session Monday.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.