PCIJ: Iloilo City Rep. Baronda received more than P3 billion in ‘allocables’, non-allocables from national budget

Iloilo City- The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) revealed that Iloilo City Lone District Representative Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda obtained more than P5 billion in “allocables” and “non-allocables” from the past three national budgets.

According to PCIJ, Baronda received P1.015 billion worth of “non-allocables”, or “free-for-all pork projects” of lawmakers and executive officials, in the 2025 national budget.

So-called “non-allocables” are proposed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), supposedly based on an infrastructure masterplan that is premised on poverty alleviation, disaster mitigation, and service provision.

Meanwhile, Baronda received ₱4.084 billion in “allocables” from 2023 to 2025—an average of ₱1.351 billion annually.

Retired DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has described allocables as district congressmen’s DPWH “pork barrel” allocations embedded in the National Expenditure Program, or the “president’s budget.”

Based on multiple media reports, Baronda received P1.75 billion worth of flood control projects during the time of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez as House Speaker.

Baronda reportedly received P945,985,191.41 in flood control allocations in 2025, dwarfing the previous amounts of P737.3 million and P71.1 million she received in 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Baronda’s three projects worth P425 million were listed under St Timothy Construction Corp and one under Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp worth ₱150 million.

Both companies are owned by controversial contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya, who are currently under investigation for their involvement in anomalous flood control projects.

Recently, an unfinished 600-meter flood mitigation structure worth P400 million was discovered in Bo. Obrero, Lapuz. It was funded through the congressional district office and implemented by the DPWH-Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO).

During his visit to Iloilo City in August, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. criticized the delays and poor implementation of flood control projects after inspecting two flood mitigation projects in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro district.

“Sa aking pagbisita sa Iloilo, nakita natin ang mga delayed at palpak na flood control projects na lalo pang nagpapalala ng pagbaha,” Marcos said in a Facebook post.