Tag: Anti-Pork

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Lacson Floats One-Year ‘Experiment’ to Curb Budget Insertions

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Thursday evening proposed an “experiment” aiming to prevent a repeat of the corruption that led to the mangling of the 2025 national budget through congressional insertions and realignments.

For the 2026 budget, Lacson proposed that the Senate adopt the National Expenditure Program (NEP) in full, with the assumption that the items in the NEP were fully vetted by the Executive Department.

“For a change, why not have the Senate adopt the NEP so that if there will be problems in implementing projects in 2026, it will be on the executive department,” he said in Filipino in an interview on DZRH radio.

“At least if it’s the NEP, I’m sure the items in it were studied carefully by the implementing agencies concerned,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson, Iminungkahi ang Isang-Taóng ‘Eksperimento’ para Pigilin ang Budget Insertions

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Lacson: Senate, House Resolutions Opening the Budget Process to the Public a Big Step vs Corruption

The resolutions by the Senate and House of Representatives to open the budget process to the public may not be foolproof but they are still a major step against “pork” in the national budget, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Wednesday.

Lacson welcomed the House’s adoption of House Resolution 94, which seeks to institutionalize the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) as non-voting observers in the budget deliberations of the House appropriations committee.

He added that with the signing by himself and fellow senators of a concurrent resolution to have a transparent budget process, it will be easier to identify the lawmakers who made insertions and realignments to the budget bill.

“What we signed yesterday is a concurrent resolution so both houses of Congress thankfully are united in making the budget process transparent all the way to the bicameral conference committee,” he said.

In Filipino: Lacson: Resolusyon ng Senado at Kamara na Nagbubukas ng Budget Process sa Publiko, Malaking Hakbang Laban sa Katiwalian sa Budget

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Lacson to Work with Gatchalian, Like-Minded Solons Towards Pork-Free Budget

A breath of fresh air. This was how Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson described late Monday the initiative of Senate Finance Committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian to ensure transparency in the budget process.

Lacson, who earned a reputation as an eagle-eyed watchdog of the budget, said he hopes to work together with like-minded senators in keeping the budget free from “pork.”

“His proposal to upload online the documents related to the budget is a good one. It will mean a lot to see which lawmaker made which insertions that the President described as not aligning with the National Expenditure Program,” Lacson said in Filipino, in an interview on BNC Monday evening.

In Filipino: Lacson Makikiisa kay Gatchalian, Kasundong Mambabatas Patungo sa Pork-Free Budget

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Ping: Fiscalizer Role in the Senate, Pork Barrel, Cleansing the PNP

In an interview on DZRH, Ping Lacson answers questions on:
* Fiscalizer role in the Senate
* Worsening ‘pork’
* Strengthening PNP Internal Affairs Service

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Editorial: Walking dead pork [Tribune]

From Daily Tribune: While the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the Priority Development Assistance Fund and similar discretionary lump sums in the budget that gave legislators authority to implement government projects were illegal, the pork barrel has been resurrected in different forms over the years.

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