At least P100 billion worth of items were inserted by “almost all” senators in the 19th Congress in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson bared on Sunday.
Lacson, an eagle-eyed watchdog of the national budget, cited documents he gathered indicating that these were individual insertions, although they were eventually held for later release (FLR).
“Sa Senate pa lang, at least P100 bilyon. Nagulat nga ako, sa individual insertions ito, ito naka-FLR ngayon (For the Senate, the insertions amounted to at least P100 billion. I was surprised because these are individual insertions although they were held ‘for later release’),” he said in an interview on DZMM radio.
“Pagkalalaki. Never pa ako nakakita kasi noong araw di pa declared unconstitutional ang PDAF nandoon lang sa hundreds of millions. E ngayon nakita ko ang total, kabuuan at least P100 billion (It was humongous. I have never seen such amounts. Before the Priority Development Assistance Fund was declared unconstitutional in 2013, ‘pork’ amounted to hundreds of millions. Now it’s at least P100 billion total for 24 senators alone),” he added.
In Filipino: Lacson, Ibinunyag ang Mahigit ₱100B Insertion ng mga Senador sa 2025 Budget
He said he has yet to scrutinize the list of House members, but noted that the list of congressmen who made similar insertions is long. “Ang haba ng listahan din (The list is long).”
Lacson said he may ask the agencies concerned during the upcoming budget deliberations why such insertions were allowed.
“Sa budget deliberation pwede ko tanungin ito bakit pinayagan ito. Ang pagbusisi, lalo sa plenary, gusto kong malaman ilan sa siningit na insertion ang na-release at papaano na-implement (At the budget deliberation, I can ask why these insertions were allowed. In scrutinizing the budget especially in the plenary, I want to know how much of the insertions were released and how they were implemented),” he said, adding he is concerned about the release of unprogrammed appropriations.
Lacson said that while insertions or amendments per se are not necessarily illegal, they are questionable especially if individual insertions amount to P5 billion or even P9 billion.
Such insertions could threaten the economy because the withheld or diverted funds could have gone to infrastructure programs that were planned and vetted at the barangay, city and regional levels, he said.
Lacson reiterated his call to fellow lawmakers to practice self-restraint in inserting appropriations for locally funded infrastructure projects not just in the Department of Public Works and Highways but in other agencies like the Department of Education and Department of Transportation, whose budgets include infrastructure projects.
He likewise appealed to fellow lawmakers not to avail of the so-called “leadership fund” in the DPWH that allows lawmakers to insert projects at the level of the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Redemption from ‘Original Sin’ of Corruption
Meanwhile, Lacson said Congress, after losing public trust over the “original sin” of corruption exposed in the flood control project scandal, must now start on the path to redemption by ensuring a transparent and pork-free budget.
Lacson said the Senate cannot deny that it now faces a crisis after some incumbent and former members were linked to alleged kickbacks in anomalous flood control projects.
“We must start the process of reform with the preparations for the 2026 budget. The timing is right because the budget bill is now under deliberation,” he said in an interview on DWIZ Saturday.
Lacson said a meeting was set for last Friday between the Senate and House leaderships but was postponed due to bad weather. The Senate contingent would have included Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Lacson, majority floor leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian. The House contingent would have been led by Speaker Faustino Dy III.
“Had the meeting pushed through, I would have made a call for self-restraint, especially involving funds for local infrastructure projects under the authority of the District Engineering Office. It would have been a remedial or corrective measure,” he said.
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Lacson, Ibinunyag ang Mahigit ₱100B Insertion ng mga Senador sa 2025 Budget
Mahigit ₱100 bilyon ang isinisingit na mga item ng halos lahat ng senador sa ika-19 na Kongreso sa 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), ayon kay Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Linggo.
Ani Lacson, na mahigpit na bantay ng kaban ng bayan, lumalabas sa dokumentong kanyang nakalap na ang mga siningit ay mga individual insertions, bagama’t na-tag na “For Later Release (FLR).”
“Sa Senate pa lang, at least ₱100 bilyon. Nagulat nga ako, sa individual insertions ito, ito naka-FLR ngayon,” ani Lacson sa panayam sa DZMM.
“Pagkalalaki. Never pa ako nakakita kasi noong araw di pa declared unconstitutional ang PDAF nandoon lang sa hundreds of millions. E ngayon nakita ko ang total, kabuuan at least P100 billion,” dagdag pa niya.
Ani Lacson, hindi pa niya nakikita nang buo ang listahan ng mga miyembro ng Kamara, ngunit “ang haba ng listahan din.”
Maaaring tanungin ni Lacson ang mga kinauukulang ahensya sa darating na budget deliberations ng Senado kung bakit pinayagan ang mga ganoong pagsingit.
“Sa budget deliberation pwede ko tanungin ito bakit pinayagan ito. Ang pagbusisi, lalo sa plenary, gusto kong malaman ilan sa siningit na insertion ang na-release at papaano na-implement,” aniya, sabay giit na may pangamba rin siya sa paglalabas ng mga unprogrammed appropriations.
Binigyang-diin ni Lacson na bagama’t hindi awtomatikong ilegal ang insertions o amendments, nagiging kwestyonable ito lalo na kung umaabot sa ₱5 bilyon o hanggang ₱9 bilyon ang bawat individual insertion.
Babala niya, maaaring banta ito sa ekonomiya dahil ang mga pondong naantala o nailihis ay sana’y mapupunta sa mga proyektong pang-imprastraktura na napagplanuhan at sinuri mula barangay, lungsod at rehiyonal na antas.
Muling nanawagan si Lacson sa mga kapwa mambabatas na pairalin ang pagpipigil sa sarili sa paggawa ng insertions para sa mga locally funded infrastructure projects, hindi lamang sa Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) kundi pati na rin sa Department of Education at Department of Transportation, na parehong may malaking bahagi sa imprastraktura.
Nanawagan din siya sa kapwa mambabatas na iwasan ang paggamit ng tinatawag na “leadership fund” sa DPWH na nagbibigay daan sa mga legislator na makapagsingit ng proyekto sa antas ng National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Pagbawi mula sa ‘Original Sin’ ng Korapsyon
Ani Lacson, matapos mawala ang tiwala ng publiko sa Kongreso dahil sa “original sin” ng korapsyon na nabunyag sa iskandalo ng flood control projects, dapat na nito simulan ang pagbawi sa pamamagitan ng pagtitiyak ng isang transparent at pork-free na budget.
Giit ni Lacson, hindi maikakaila ng Senado na humaharap ito ngayon sa krisis matapos maiugnay ang ilang kasalukuyan at dating miyembro sa umano’y kickbacks sa mga maanomalyang flood control projects.
“Dapat mag-reform kami, magsimula sa 2026 budget. Sabi ko nga, tama ang timing kasi under deliberation ang budget for 2026,” aniya sa panayam ng DWIZ nitong Sabado.
Idinagdag ni Lacson na may nakatakdang pagpupulong noong Biyernes sa pagitan ng pamunuan ng Senado at Kamara, ngunit ito ay ipinagpaliban dahil sa masamang panahon. Ang bubuo sana sa delegasyon ng Senado ay sina Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Lacson, Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri at Finance Committee Chairman Sherwin Gatchalian, habang pangungunahan naman ng House Speaker Faustino Dy III ang panig ng Kamara.
“Ang intention pag nagkaharap kami, mananawagan ako ng self-restraint. Huwag natin maghimasukan lalo sa local infrastructure projects kung saan ang level ng authority nasa District Engineering Office. So yan gusto kong isuggest para meron tayong ginagawang remedial measures, corrective measures, para huwag kaming makialam,” aniya.
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