The country cannot tolerate any more mangling of the national budget, much less unabated mangling.
On this note, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson aired support Wednesday for the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)’s moves to prevent insertions in the proposed P6.793-trillion budget for 2026.
“I couldn’t agree more with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman. The country cannot anymore tolerate unabated mangling of the National Expenditure Program which presumably has undergone months of preparation and consultations with the local government units and concerned agencies before being transmitted to Congress, (and if mangled) may not be responsive to the short and medium term development goals of the national government,” stressed Lacson, an eagle-eyed watchdog of the national budget.
In Filipino: Ping Lacson: Hindi Na Pwedeng Payagan ang Pagwasak sa Pambansang Budget
On Tuesday, Pangandaman called on government agencies to stick to the agreed budget, which she described as “very tight,” and not to ask for more from lawmakers once they start deliberations on the budget bill.
Pangandaman was quoted in reports as saying that she had been sitting down with department secretaries to check that they agree with their budget levels and priorities.
Lacson emphasized there should be no more repeat of the mangling of the budget – especially the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which he had noted was mangled “beyond recognition.”
Earlier, Lacson bared inequitable and distorted flood control allocations in the 2025 budget, where a small barangay in a small town received an appropriation of P1.9 billion and one small town got an appropriation of P10 billion.
One of Lacson’s priority bills is ensuring transparency in the preparation of the budget by allowing the participation of civil society organizations in the process, including in the bicameral conference committee.
“Whimsical and arbitrary insertions and realignments, usually contractor and supplier-driven amendments introduced by some self-aggrandizing senators and congressmen more often than not, not only contribute to more unused and misused appropriations in the implementation of the GAA, but worse, become tools of massive corruption,” he stressed.
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Ping Lacson: Hindi Na Pwedeng Payagan ang Pagwasak sa Pambansang Budget
Hindi na makakayanan ng bansa ang muling pagwasak sa pambansang budget – lalo na ang walang tigil na pagkalikot dito.
Iginiit ito nitong Miyerkules ni Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson na sumuporta sa pagsikap ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) para pigilan ang singitan sa panukalang P6.793-trilyong budget para sa 2026.
“I couldn’t agree more with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman. The country cannot anymore tolerate unabated mangling of the National Expenditure Program which presumably has undergone months of preparation and consultations with the local government units and concerned agencies before being transmitted to Congress, (and if mangled) may not be responsive to the short and medium term development goals of the national government,” diin ni Lacson, na mahigpit na tagabantay ng kaban ng bayan.
Nitong Martes, nanawagan si Pangandaman sa ahensya ng gobyerno na sumunod sa budget at huwag nang humingi ng dagdag na pondo sa mga mambabatas sa oras na magsimula silang talakayin ang budget bill.
Ayon sa ulat, nag-usap na si Pangandaman at ang mga department secretaries para tiyaking susunod sila sa budget.
Iginiit ni Lacson na hindi na dapat maulit ang pagwasak sa budget – lalo na ang 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) na aniya’y “mangled beyond recognition.”
Nitong nakaraang linggo, ibinunyag ni Lacson ang hindi patas at baluktot na alokasyon para sa flood control project sa 2025 budget. Dito ay may maliit na barangay na nakakuha ng P1.9 bilyon, at nakakuha ang maliit na bayan ng P10 bilyon.
Isa sa mga priority bill ni Lacson sa 20th Congress ay ang pagtiyak ng transparency sa paghanda ng budget, sa pamamagitan ng paglahok ng civil society organizations sa proseso, kabilang ang bicameral conference committee.
“Whimsical and arbitrary insertions and realignments, usually contractor and supplier-driven amendments introduced by some self-aggrandizing senators and congressmen more often than not, not only contribute to more unused and misused appropriations in the implementation of the GAA, but worse, become tools of massive corruption,” diin ni Lacson.
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