Tag: 2025 budget

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Lacson to Fellow Lawmakers: Revelations on Huge Budget Insertions a Wake-Up Call to Make 2026 Budget Pork-Free

The revelations on humongous budget insertions by the Senate and House of Representatives in the 2025 budget is not meant to put anyone on the spot but be a chance for both houses of Congress to heed the public’s outrage against corruption and ensure a pork-free budget for 2026 and beyond, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Tuesday.

Lacson said he explained this to fellow senators in a caucus Monday, where some of them voiced concerns that the revelation over the insertions could affect the institution.

“I can actually feel and understand completely the sentiments expressed by my colleagues, at least the members of the majority bloc during our majority caucus yesterday, so I explained to them that the mention of ‘almost all senators’ was not intended to put them or the whole Senate on the spot, nor did I have the intention of calling them out particularly,” Lacson said.

“The overarching reason for my disclosure or revelation was to point out that we must accept the fact that we are all in crisis owing to the recent anomalies involving the substandard and even ghost flood control projects unearthed in the course of the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings and other similar investigations,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson sa mga Kapwa Mambabatas: Pagbubunyag ng Malalaking Budget Insertions, Pampagising Para Alisin ang Pork sa Budget

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Lacson Uncovers Least P100B in Senators’ Insertions in 2025 Budget

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

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Lacson in ‘Sagasa Mode,’ Waiting for ‘Receipts’ on Flood Control Project Commissions to Senators

After confirming multimillion-peso budget insertions in 2023 and 2025 tied to Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, Senate President Pro Tempore and Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson is now waiting for “receipts” or proof of commissions they allegedly got from flood control projects.

Lacson said Friday that the “receipts” will aid in crafting stronger anti-corruption and accountability measures, as well as help the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and other prosecution bodies like the Ombudsman or Department of Justice.

In radio and TV interviews Friday morning, Lacson said he will ask Senate President Vicente Sotto III to allow ex-Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez to leave the Senate premises under escort, to produce these “receipts.” Hernandez had given details linking the two senators and a member of the House of Representatives to the insertions and claimed they got 30% commissions from flood control projects.

In Filipino: Lacson, ‘Sagasa Mode’ Na, Naghihintay ng ‘Resibo’ sa Flood Control Komisyon ng mga Senador

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Lacson Asks: Why Did Senate and House Allow the Illegal P74B Realignment of PhilHealth Subsidy in 2025 GAA?

Why did lawmakers allow the scrapping of P74 billion for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) when they knew it was illegal?

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson raised this question on Monday as he noted the realignment of the P74 billion in the GAA effectively amended the Sin Tax Law, violating the principle that a general law cannot amend a special law.

“(The) GAA is a general law. And the sin tax law is a special law. And any lawyer will tell you, or any member of Congress will tell you that a general law cannot amend a special law. In other words, what the Senate did and what the House did was illegal,” Lacson, an eagle-eyed watchdog of the budget, said in his interjection of Sen. JV Ejercito’s privilege speech about the Universal Health Care Act.

In Filipino: Tanong ni Lacson: Bakit Pumayag ang Senado at Kamara sa Ilegal na P74B Realignment ng PhilHealth Subsidy sa 2025 GAA?

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Ping Lacson Presses Long-Term, Integrated Master Planning for Flood Control

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Saturday pressed for a long-term and integrated master plan for flood management, in the wake of the devastation caused by days of flooding brought by recent cyclones and the southwest monsoon.

Lacson said it is time to review the present flood management programs, including how almost P2 trillion in funding in the last 15 years was spent, and hold the concerned parties accountable.

“What happened to the huge amounts we spent in the last 15 years? Was there any progress? If the flood control policies and programs were not effective, we should see where we went wrong and make the needed corrections,” he said in Filipino, in interviews on DZRH and DWIZ.

“For accountability, we need to see how the funds were spent and find out who were responsible for it,” he added.

In Filipino: Ping Lacson, Itinulak ang Long-Term, Integrated na Master Planning para sa Flood Control

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