To The Manila Times: WE like to set the record straight on the misleading and baseless claims made by Charlie V. Manalo against Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson, in his Manila Times column, titled “From bravado to childish tantrums,” on Dec. 19, 2025.
Manalo column’s claims ‘long on insinuation, short on facts’ – Lacson office
By Letters to the Editor, December 20, 2025
WE like to set the record straight on the misleading and baseless claims made by Charlie V. Manalo against Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson, in his Manila Times column, titled “From bravado to childish tantrums,” on Dec. 19, 2025.
Mr. Manalo’s attacks are wide-ranging, from Senator Lacson’s conduct of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigation into anomalous flood control projects to his consistent efforts to rid the national budget of “pork.” Yet his claims are long on insinuation and short on facts.
First, on Senator Lacson’s handling of the Blue Ribbon investigation: From the outset, he made it clear that he would follow the evidence instead of forcing the evidence to fit a narrative. Indeed, the records show that he was guided by the facts and not by “bravado,” as Manalo claims.
Thus, we wonder why Manalo insinuated that Senator Lacson was “transformed” after being reelected as Blue Ribbon chairman and that he went soft on Curlee Discaya. More importantly, we wonder what could be Manalo’s “reason” for believing that the records of Discaya “may have been doctored.” He owes it to the proper authorities and the public to disclose it. Otherwise, it will remain pure speculation.
Manalo also conveniently ignores Senator Lacson’s privilege speech detailing the losses in flood control projects dating back to 2011, where it was learned that from 2011 to 2025, the government appropriated more than P1.9 trillion for flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) alone. Of this, 53 percent, or more than P1 trillion, went to flood control projects from 2023 to 2025. These figures show thorough and not selective research as Manalo insinuates.
Second, Manalo alleges that Senator Lacson threw a “tantrum” after Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon asked the Senate to restore part of the DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget due to a computation error. What “tantrum”? Senator Lacson merely stated the obvious: the DPWH should own up to its error since the Senate cut the DPWH’s proposed budget based on the department’s erroneous computation. It is unfair and misleading to blame the Senate for a computation error made by the DPWH, regardless of the pressures involved.
For the record, Senator Lacson has consistently scrutinized the DPWH’s budget. During his interpellation of the DPWH’s proposed 2026 budget, he exposed seemingly duplicate projects under the DPWH’s Convergence and Special Support Program, which saw significant budget bloating every year from 2023 to 2025.
Third, Manalo accuses Senator Lacson of not understanding how the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (Maifip) works, supposedly because Maifip funds are released directly to the Department of Health (DOH) and not coursed through lawmakers.
It appears Manalo is the one who does not know how Maifip works, or is trying to mislead his readers. Even if funds are released to the DOH, lawmakers still have a say in identifying beneficiaries by issuing guarantee letters. This is the essence of pork barrel: lawmakers meddling in the implementation of laws, especially those involving taxpayers’ money, when they should be crafting laws.
To address this, Senator Lacson and his colleagues ensured a clear safeguard in the 2026 budget — absolutely no guarantee letters or any other form of “epal” for all “ayudas.”
Finally, Manalo’s challenge to Senator Lacson to craft a law to prevent the abuse of Maifip is a clear case of “trabahong tamad.” As early as last July, Senator Lacson filed Senate Bill 404, placing Maifip under the framework of the Universal Health Care Act — and penalizing political exploitation and manipulation of the program. In fact, it is one of Senator Lacson’s priority bills.
In filing the bill, Senator Lacson cited reports where private hospitals refused to honor guarantee letters issued by government officials to indigent patients under the Maifip program, due to unresolved outstanding payables accruing over several months.
We hope this clarification disabuses your readers’ minds of the misleading claims made by Mr. Manalo in his column, a close reading of which would show that it is not Senator Lacson, but Mr. Manalo himself who is throwing childish tantrums.
Respectfully yours,
Joel Locsin
Media Relations Officer
Office of Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson