SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino 'Koko' Pimentel 3rd last week expressed reservations about the large amount of 'unprogrammed' funds included in the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023, pointing out that they raised the prospect of excessive borrowing by the government, and could be at risk of being misused. Although Pimentel's concerns might give some the wrong impression about what 'unprogrammed funds' actually means, we believe that he is right to call attention to their excessive amount in the government's spending plan.