THE National Government is proposing P145.37-billion budget for counterpart funding for foreign-assisted projects in 2027, driven by substantially higher allocations for major railway, bridge and transport projects.
According to the 2027 Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing, government counterpart funding is set to increase by 319.6% from the P34.65 billion allocated for 2026.
Overall funding for foreign-assisted projects is proposed to more than triple to P416.59 billion in 2027.
Of the proposed amount, P271.22 billion will come from foreign loan proceeds, nearly triple the P97.38 billion in 2026, with the balance to be shouldered by the government.
Projects supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) account for the largest share of the 2027 counterpart-funding budget at P169.67 billion, followed by projects financed through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at P158.70 billion.
These amounts cover both foreign loan proceeds and counterpart funding from the government.
The proposed funding for ADB-backed projects includes P79.73 billion for the North-South Commuter Railway System, P35.21 billion for the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network Project, and P22.49 billion for the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project.
Meanwhile, the proposed counterpart funds for JICA-backed projects includes P67.44 billion for the Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1 and P44.11 billion for the North-South Commuter Railway System.
Despite the larger overall allocation for ADB-backed projects, projects supported by JICA require P61.39 billion in government counterpart funding, against the P54.40 billion proposed for ADB-backed projects.
The JICA-backed Metro Manila Subway will receive the largest counterpart allocation at P40.73 billion, up from P3.33 billion a year earlier.
Counterpart funding for the ADB-backed North-South Commuter Railway System is set to increase to P23.07 billion from P6.76 billion.
The proposed counterpart allocation for the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge rises to P13.32 billion from P866.36 million, with that for the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network rising to P9.48 billion from P757.98 million. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
