Budget insertions by themselves are not illegal nor evil as they are part of the mandate of lawmakers in shaping the national budget – but this mandate has been abused by lawmakers, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Monday as he bared the House of Representatives has its own share of humongous amendments a.k.a. insertions in the 2025 budget.
Lacson, who earned a reputation as a no-nonsense watchdog of the national budget, reiterated his call for transparency and accountability from lawmakers in the deliberations for the 2026 budget.
“Introducing insertions are not illegal. It is our mandate as lawmakers to review the National Expenditure Program and introduce amendments. The problem is that many lawmakers abused this mandate,” Lacson said in a mix of English and Filipino in an interview on DZBB radio.
“I hope that in 2026, we will practice self-restraint. The people are angry so we must reform the way we pass the budget,” he added.
In Filipino: Lacson: Budget Insertions Mandato ng Mambabatas, Pero Naabuso sa Kongreso
Lacson said the insertions – more than P100 billion by the Senate alone – were for the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) alone, to implement infrastructure projects including flood control projects.
Citing information he accessed, Lacson said the document listing the House members who made insertions for the DPWH included several pages, with the names in alphabetical order. “It was like a roll call,” he said of the House list.
When asked if the amount exceeded the insertions made by the Senate, Lacson replied: “Much, much more.”
Lacson said the DPWH received such massive insertions because many lawmakers were likely in collusion with corrupt DPWH officials to carve out huge kickbacks from projects – even if it means giving the DPWH a bigger budget than the education sector, in violation of the 1987 Constitution.
“The system of corruption has been in place, with lawmakers dealing with the district engineer and former Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. That’s the pattern. You see the DPWH getting a bigger budget than the education sector because everyone involved got greedier and greedier, and stuffed the DPWH’s budget. That is unacceptable,” he said.
He added that while it is good that a huge part of the insertions were held and tagged “For Later Release,” this may affect the economy because properly vetted projects may not get the funding they need.
Lacson said the Senate must lead the way in ensuring transparency in budget deliberations, especially during the period of individual amendments in plenary. Lacson has repeatedly batted for making public the proponents of amendments to the budget bill.
“That is the reason why we need to be totally transparent in the budget deliberations of the 2026 budget measure, especially during the period of individual amendments in plenary. The Senate must lead the way in this regard, at least by revealing the identities of the proponents of such individual amendments,” he said.
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Lacson: Budget Insertions Mandato ng Mambabatas, Pero Naabuso sa Kongreso
Hindi awtomatikong ilegal o masama ang mga budget insertions dahil bahagi ito ng mandato ng mga mambabatas sa paghubog ng pambansang budget – pero inabuso na ito ng mambabatas, ayon kay Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong Lunes – sabay bunyag na pati ang Kamara ay may dambuhalang mga insertion din sa 2025 budget.
Muling nanawagan si Lacson, na nakilala bilang mahigpit na tagabantay ng kaban ng bayan, para sa transparency at accountability mula sa mga mambabatas sa pagtalakay ng 2026 budget.
“Hindi sa illegal ito. Call of duty, mandato namin ang mag-review ng National Expenditure Program at mag-introduce ng amendments. Ang problema nga, naabuso na ang aming mandate,” ani Lacson sa panayam sa DZBB radio.
“Sana sa 2026 medyo mag-self restraint kami (dahil) mainit na mainit ang ulo ng tao, magsimula na tayong mag-reform sa pagpapasa ng budget,” dagdag niya
Ayon kay Lacson, ang insertions – mahigit ₱100 bilyon mula sa Senado pa lang – ay para sa budget ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) lamang, upang ipatupad ang mga proyektong pang-imprastruktura kabilang ang flood control projects.
Batay sa nakalap niyang impormasyon, sinabi ni Lacson na ang dokumentong naglalaman ng listahan ng mga kongresistang nagsingit ng pondo para sa DPWH ay binubuo ng ilang pahina, nakaayos sa alpabeto ang mga pangalan. “Parang roll call,” aniya tungkol sa listahan ng Kamara.
Nang tanungin kung lumampas ang halaga ng insertion galing sa Kamara kumpara sa insertions ng Senado, tugon ni Lacson: “Siguradong lampas.”
Ani Lacson, nakatanggap ng napakalalaking insertions ang DPWH dahil malamang na maraming mambabatas ang nakipagsabwatan sa mga tiwaling opisyal ng DPWH upang makakuha ng malalaking kickback mula sa mga proyekto – kahit pa ang ibig sabihin nito ay mas malaki pa ang budget ng DPWH kaysa sa sektor ng edukasyon, na labag sa Saligang Batas.
“Nandoon ang mga suki, nandoon ang matagal kausap ang District Engineer, si (dating Undersecretary Roberto) Bernardo. Yan ang pattern. Kaya nga umabot sa sukdulan ang nilampasan pa education sector ng DPWH kasi nandiyan ang suki, kalakaran at kausap so gusto nila punuan ng punuan. Yan ang hindi katanggap tanggap kasi lumabas na sa sukdulan,” aniya.
Dagdag ni Lacson, kahit mabuting nakatengga at ginawang “For Later Release” ang malaking bahagi ng insertions, maaari pa rin itong makaapekto sa ekonomiya dahil posibleng hindi mapondohan ang mga proyektong maayos na na-vet.
Idiniin niya na dapat manguna ang Senado sa pagtiyak ng transparency sa budget deliberations, lalo na sa panahon ng individual amendments sa plenaryo. Paulit-ulit niyang iginiit na dapat gawing publiko ang mga nagmumungkahi ng amendments sa budget bill.
“That is the reason why we need to be totally transparent in the budget deliberations of the 2026 budget measure, especially during the period of individual amendments in plenary. The Senate must lead the way in this regard, at least by revealing the identities of the proponents of such individual amendments,” aniya.
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