Tag: budget reform

Ping: Pet Projects ng mga Mambabatas, Kailangang Dumaan sa Pagpaplano, Konsultasyon

Sa 2022 at sa mga susunod na taon, kailangan nang dumaan sa masusing pagpaplano at konsultasyon sa lokal na otoridad at ahensya ang mga development projects ng mga mambabatas.

Ayon kay Senador Ping Lacson, hindi na kaya pa ng bansa na magsayang muli ng bilyun-bilyong pondo na unutilized funds dahil sa korapsyon na may kinalaman sa “pork.”

“Kailangan dumaan sa masusing pagpaplano. Maski mag-‘insert’ ka basta may consultation,” ani Lacson, na nakilala sa kanyang paghaharang sa bilyun-bilyong kwestyonableng proyekto sa taunang pagbubusisi sa national budget.

Related: Lacson: Lawmakers’ Pet Projects Should Undergo Planning, Consultation
Continue reading “Ping: Pet Projects ng mga Mambabatas, Kailangang Dumaan sa Pagpaplano, Konsultasyon”

Lacson: Lawmakers’ Pet Projects Should Undergo Planning, Consultation

For 2022 and beyond, development projects being advocated by lawmakers should undergo at least proper planning and consultation with the proper local authorities as well as implementing agencies.

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson aired this hope as he said the country cannot afford to continue wasting hundreds of billions of pesos in unutilized funds in the budget due to “pork”-related corruption.

“Kailangan dumaan sa masusing pagpaplano. Maski mag-‘insert’ ka basta may consultation (Projects should go through thorough planning and consultation. Even if a project is ‘inserted’ into the National Expenditure Program, there is nothing wrong so long as it underwent the proper consultations),” said Lacson, who has flagged billions of pesos in questionable projects in his yearly scrutiny of the national budget.

Related: Ping: Pet Projects ng mga Mambabatas, Kailangang Dumaan sa Pagpaplano, Konsultasyon
Continue reading “Lacson: Lawmakers’ Pet Projects Should Undergo Planning, Consultation”

Ping, Nagbigay Daan sa Mas Inklusibong Paghubog ng Badyet

Sa tulong ni Senador Ping Lacson, kasama ang civil society groups sa pagsuri ng P5.024-trilyong badyet para sa 2022 – at pagtiyak na makakatugon ito sa tunay na pangangailangan ng mamamayan.

Sumulat ang Social Watch Philippines at Alternative Budget Initiative kay Lacson noong Nov. 10, bilang pasasalamat sa kanilang naging partisipasyon sa mga pagdinig ng Senate Finance Committee hinggil sa badyet.

Related: Lacson Paves Way for a More Participative Budget Process
Continue reading “Ping, Nagbigay Daan sa Mas Inklusibong Paghubog ng Badyet”

Lacson Paves Way for a More Participative Budget Process

With a boost from Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson, civil society groups managed to help scrutinize and make the P5.024-trillion proposed budget for 2022 more responsive to people’s needs.

Social Watch Philippines and the Alternative Budget Initiative wrote Lacson on Nov. 10, thanking him for endorsing their participation in the Senate Finance Committee hearings on the budget.

Related: Ping, Nagbigay Daan sa Mas Inklusibong Paghubog ng Badyet
Continue reading “Lacson Paves Way for a More Participative Budget Process”

Ping: Panahon na Para Ibigay sa LGUs ang Procurement at Implementasyon ng Proyekto

Para maiwasan ang korapsyon at maling paggastos ng pondo, napapanahon na para ipasa ng gobyerno sa lokal na pamahalaan ang pagbili ng supplies at implementasyon ng kani-kanilang proyekto, ayon kay Senador Ping Lacson nitong Miyerkules.

Ayon kay Lacson, marami nang nagawang maling desisyon ang mga pambansang ahensya ng gobyerno sa procurement, kabilang na ang paglipat ng P42 bilyon sa Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service (PS-DBM), kung saan nakakuha ng bilyun-bilyong kontrata ang mga kahina-hinalang kompanya tulad ng Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. sa kabila ng kakulangan sa qualifications.

“Why don’t we devolve the procurement of medicines, drugs and other items? It’s about time. Time and again we have witnessed bad procurement by the DOH and other line agencies,” ani Lacson sa deliberasyon ng Senado sa P5.024-trilyong national budget para sa 2022.

Related: Lacson: Time to Devolve Procurement, Project Implementation Functions to LGUs
Continue reading “Ping: Panahon na Para Ibigay sa LGUs ang Procurement at Implementasyon ng Proyekto”

Lacson: Time to Devolve Procurement, Project Implementation Functions to LGUs

To prevent corruption and underutilization of the national budget, it is high time that the government devolve its procurement of supplies and implementation of projects to the local government units, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Wednesday.

Lacson said national agencies have shown bad procurement decisions, including the transfer of P42 billion to the Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service – which in turn allowed shady firms such as Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. to bag multibillion-peso contracts despite lack of qualifications.

“Why don’t we devolve the procurement of medicines, drugs and other items? It’s about time. Time and again we have witnessed bad procurement by the DOH and other line agencies,” he said at the Senate deliberation on the P5.024-trillion budget for 2022.

Related: Ping: Panahon na Para Ibigay sa LGUs ang Procurement at Implementasyon ng Proyekto
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Ping: Mas Kailangan ng Inklusibong Badyet sa Gitna ng Pandemya

Dahil sa pandemya, mas naging importante ang pagkakaroon ng inklusibo at development-oriented na badyet kung saan may partisipasyon sa paggawa ng panukalang badyet ang mga makikinabang nito sa lokal na lebel, ayon kay Senador Ping Lacson nitong Lunes.

Bilang tugon sa “Budget Serye 2021” ng Social Watch Philippines, sinabi ni Lacson na ang badyet ang pinakaimportanteng kasangkapan para matugunan ang mga problema ng lipunan na mas pinalala pa ng pandemya.

“The national budget is the government’s most important tool in achieving its goals, especially in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis when all our social, economic and political problems have magnified into massive scale,” aniya.

Related: Lacson: Pandemic Underscores Need for Inclusive National Budget
Continue reading “Ping: Mas Kailangan ng Inklusibong Badyet sa Gitna ng Pandemya”

Lacson: Pandemic Underscores Need for Inclusive National Budget

The Covid pandemic and its continuing effects underscore the need to have a national budget that is participatory, consultative, development-oriented and inclusive, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said Monday.

Lacson, addressing the “Budget Serye 2021” of Social Watch Philippines, said the budget is the most important tool to address social, economic and political problems, which are magnified by the pandemic.

“The national budget is the government’s most important tool in achieving its goals, especially in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis when all our social, economic and political problems have magnified into massive scale,” he said.

Related: Ping: Mas Kailangan ng Inklusibong Badyet sa Gitna ng Pandemya
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Agarang Implementasyon ng Standard Quarantine Protocols, Apela ni Ping

Para sa maluwag na paggalaw ng mga umuuwing overseas Filipino workers (OFW) at pagpanumbalik ng masiglang ekonomiya ng bansa.

Ito ang dalawang mahahalagang puntos na idiniin ni Senador Panfilo Lacson sa pagsuporta at pag-apela sa National Task Force Against COVID-19 na pabilisin ang pagpapatupad ng standard quarantine protocols sa mga Pinoy na nabakunahan na rito sa Pilipinas at sa ibang bansa.

Ayon kay Lacson, hindi na makakapaghintay pa ang ekonomiya kaya’t ito ay dapat nang pabilisin sa pamamagitan ng mas pinagaang na sistema ng paggalaw ng mga ganap nang nabakunahan laban sa COVID-19.

“Please make it sooner, not later. Mind the economy for a change,” panawagan ni Lacson sa kanyang Twitter account.

Read in ENGLISH: Lacson: Fast-Track Standard Quarantine Protocols to Benefit OFWs, Economy
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Lacson: Fast-Track Standard Quarantine Protocols to Benefit OFWs, Economy

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson pushed for the fast-tracking of standard quarantine protocols for vaccinated Filipinos, to benefit not just returning overseas Filipino workers but also our economy.

As he threw his full support behind the National Task Force Against COVID-19’s move to draw up standard quarantine protocols for Filipinos vaccinated here and abroad, Lacson said economic recovery cannot afford to wait.

“Please make it sooner, not later. Mind the economy for a change,” he said in a post on his Twitter account.

Basahin sa TAGALOG: Agarang Implementasyon ng Standard Quarantine Protocols, Apela ni Ping
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The Heroes of 2020 [Manila Standard]

From Rudy Romero’s column in the Manila Standard: Another Hero of the Year 2020 is Senator Panfilo Lacson. After his work on the proposed General Appropriations Act for 2021, he truly deserves to be called Mr. Budget. Over the years, the former police general from Cavite has made it his mission to be conversant with the nefarious operations – overpricing, lump-summing, insertions and concealment – associated with the structuring of the national budget, especially its public-works portion.

Continue reading “The Heroes of 2020 [Manila Standard]”

#PINGterview: ‘Early’ Judgment of Anti-Drug War; ‘Veto’ vs Pork in 2020 Budget | Jan. 8, 2020

In an interview with media in Lingayen, Pangasinan, Sen. Lacson answered questions on:
– VP Robredo’s claim that the war vs drugs is a ‘massive failure’
– Filipinos affected by tension in the Middle East
– pork in the 2020 budget
– PNP physical fitness policy

QUOTES and NOTES:
Continue reading “#PINGterview: ‘Early’ Judgment of Anti-Drug War; ‘Veto’ vs Pork in 2020 Budget | Jan. 8, 2020”

Ping: Proseso Para sa Patas na Budget, Simula na sa 2020

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Malakas na ang tsansa na simula sa darating na taon, direkta nang matatanggap ng mga nangangailangang local government unit (LGU) ang pondong kanilang hinihingi para sa kanilang mga proyekto.

Ito ay bunga ng polisiya ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM) na nag-aatas sa mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan na kumuha muna ng sertipikasyon sa Regional Development Councils (RDCs) kaugnay sa mga proyektong ipapatupad sa taong 2021.

Ayon kay Senador Panfilo Lacson na nangunguna sa krusada para sa tamang paggamit ng pondo ng pamahalaan, ang hakbang na ito ng DBM ay magwawakas na sa “disconnect” na matagal nang nagpapahirap sa mga lokal na pamahalaan.

“I am thankful to DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado for requiring agencies to obtain certifications from RDCs to make sure projects have local support. This is a step in the right direction that we must follow,” ayon kay Lacson.

Related: Lacson Hopeful 2020 Will Kick Off Budget Reforms to Benefit Poor, Far-Flung Areas: Wala nang Disconnect!
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Lacson Hopeful 2020 Will Kick Off Budget Reforms to Benefit Poor, Far-Flung Areas: Wala nang Disconnect!

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The coming year may finally mark the beginning of the end for the “disconnect” that has shut out far-flung towns and provinces from much-needed funding for their development programs, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said.

Lacson said he has high hopes for the Department of Budget and Management’s policy to require agencies to secure certifications from Regional Development Councils for projects to be included in the proposed national budget for 2021.

“For the P4.1-trillion budget for 2020, projects initiated by the Regional Development Councils accounted for only 25 percent of development projects in the National Expenditure Program or the President’s Budget that forms the basis of the budget bill. Yet, local government units, especially those in far-flung areas, are in the best position to know their constituents’ needs and priorities,” said Lacson, an untiring watchdog of the national budget an advocate of local government empowerment.

“I am thankful to DBM Secretary Wendel Avisado for requiring agencies to obtain certifications from RDCs to make sure projects have local support. This is a step in the right direction that we must follow,” he added.

Related: Ping: Proseso Para sa Patas na Budget, Simula na sa 2020
Continue reading “Lacson Hopeful 2020 Will Kick Off Budget Reforms to Benefit Poor, Far-Flung Areas: Wala nang Disconnect!”

Interview on DZRH: Social Media, Gift or Curse? | May 3, 2019

In an interview on DZRH, Sen. Lacson answers questions on:
– gift or curse of social media
– advice to voters as the May 13 midterm elections draw closer
– Senate Bill 2219, which allows direct people’s participation in preparing the budget
– independence of the Senate in the 18th Congress

Quotes from the interview…
Continue reading “Interview on DZRH: Social Media, Gift or Curse? | May 3, 2019”

Ping, Gumalaw Na Para Mabusisi Rin ng Publiko ang Pambansang Badyet

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Senate Bill 2219 discourages ‘pork’ insertions by getting the public directly involved in the preparation of the national budget.

Mas maraming mata, mas madaling mabibisto ang tangkang pangungupit ng mga makakapal ang mukhang mambabatas na nais magpakasasa sa kaban ng bayan.

Ito ang pangunahing adhikain ng Senate Bill 2219 na inihain ni Senador Panfilo M. Lacson, na nagpapahintulot sa publiko na makapanood nang personal at makasali sa talakayan ng mga mambabatas sa pambansang badyet.

Layunin ng panukala na magkaroon ng karapatan ang publiko na malaman ang ginagawa ng mambabatas sa badyet mula sa komite ng Senado at Kamara hanggang sa bicameral conference committee.

“Now is the time for Congress to recognize the importance of the direct participation by people’s organizations and non-government organizations in the budget deliberation,” paliwanag ni Lacson sa kanyang panukala.

“We should institutionalize the practice of legislature-civil society collaboration in order to achieve a people-oriented budget as well as establish transparency and accountability in the budget process,” dagdag ng mambabatas.

Related: Stronger Safeguard vs Pork: Lacson Bill Encourages Public to Help Guard Budget Process
Continue reading “Ping, Gumalaw Na Para Mabusisi Rin ng Publiko ang Pambansang Badyet”

Stronger Safeguard vs Pork: Lacson Bill Encourages Public to Help Guard Budget Process

sb2219 Peoples Participation Bill
Senate Bill 2219 discourages ‘pork’ insertions by getting the public directly involved in the preparation of the national budget.

Taxpayers themselves will soon serve as the biggest safeguard against pork barrel being sneaked into the national budget, with a bill filed by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson.

Senate Bill 2219 institutionalizes the direct participation of people’s organizations and non-government organizations in the preparation of the spending bill.

“Now is the time for Congress to recognize the importance of the direct participation by people’s organizations and non-government organizations in the budget deliberation,” Lacson said in his bill.

“We should institutionalize the practice of legislature-civil society collaboration in order to achieve a people-oriented budget as well as establish transparency and accountability in the budget process,” he added.

Related: Ping, Gumalaw Na Para Mabusisi Rin ng Publiko ang Pambansang Badyet
Continue reading “Stronger Safeguard vs Pork: Lacson Bill Encourages Public to Help Guard Budget Process”

Level Up na Krusada ni Ping: Pondohan ang Proyektong Kailangan ng Tao

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Drones may again play a major role in helping Sen. Lacson check ‘pork’ projects in the 2019 budget, like in 2018. This year, Lacson is aiming to make greater headway against ‘pork’ and the warped budget process.

Dahil mulat na ang publiko sa pag-abuso sa kaban ng bayan bunga ng patuloy na pag-iral ng pork barrel sa mga mambabatas, lumilinaw na ang pag-asang magamit ang pondong napupunta sa mga ito sa tama at dapat na pagkagastusan.

Ayon kay Senador Panfilo Lacson, itutuloy niya ang kanyang krusada laban sa pork barrel at ang susunod na yugto nito ay ang kampanyang masunod ang tamang budget process upang matukoy ang mga prayoridad ng pagkakalooban ng pondo.

“It is high time we eliminate the obvious disconnect between the needs and priorities of the countryside local government units and the expenditure program at the national level, due to the absence of consultations,” banggit ni Lacson.

Related:
Privilege Speech: Living Without Pork (Part II)
On the Senate Caucus Involving the 2019 Budget
Lacson Readies More Headway vs ‘Pork,’ Warped Budgeting Process
Continue reading “Level Up na Krusada ni Ping: Pondohan ang Proyektong Kailangan ng Tao”

Lacson Readies More Headway vs ‘Pork,’ Warped Budgeting Process

DPWH_Committee Hearing_Nov12 (1)-16
Drones may again play a major role in helping Sen. Lacson check ‘pork’ projects in the 2019 budget, like in 2018. This year, Lacson is aiming to make greater headway against ‘pork’ and the warped budget process.

After seeing some progress this year, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson is eyeing more headway against “pork” and other flaws in the warped budgeting process that has allowed it to thrive.

Lacson said making sure the budgeting process is followed properly will prevent “pork” by having district representatives in Congress take part in planning at the local level, instead of inserting projects after Malacanang has already submitted its version of the budget – the National Expenditure Program – to Congress.

“It is high time we eliminate the obvious disconnect between the needs and priorities of the countryside local government units and the expenditure program at the national level, due to the absence of consultations,” Lacson said.

“Because of this disconnect, district representatives – instead of attending and participating in the formulation of local development plans within their districts, where they are members of the Local Development Councils – opt to arbitrarily make insertions during the authorization phase, without due regard to the needs and priorities of the LGUs within their districts,” he added.

Related:
Privilege Speech: Living Without Pork (Part II)
On the Senate Caucus Involving the 2019 Budget
Level Up na Krusada ni Ping: Pondohan ang Proyektong Kailangan ng Tao
Continue reading “Lacson Readies More Headway vs ‘Pork,’ Warped Budgeting Process”

On the Duterte Administration’s First Two Years

Even during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he persistently pitched for a six-month deadline to solve the drug problem in the country, I already pointed out it was impossible. It remains as impossible as saying he can stop crime.

After two years, it may be wise and prudent for his top advisers to go back to the drawing board and reassess what they did wrong and what they are doing right, not only in the fight against crime and corruption, which is the centerpiece of the Duterte administration’s deliverables, but in the economic sector as well.

For one, the peace-and-order strategy is long on crime suppression and short on prevention. It should be the other way around. We prevent crimes, and those that cannot be prevented from being committed must be suppressed with solid solution through efficient investigative work and techniques.

On the revenue side, the TRAIN law needs to be revisited and amended, and the President, with all his strong influence over Congress, must put his foot down on vested interests of some members of both houses.

On the expenditure side, a.k.a. the General Appropriations Act, the same influence is suggested to minimize wastage of the government’s hard-earned resources by strictly adhering to the existing jurisprudence outlawing pork barrel, which is still evident among selected members of Congress, a few of whom enjoyed as high as nine-figure insertions during the last two budget years under the Duterte administration.

*****

 

Editorial: ‘Pork’ issue raised anew in search for SUC funds [Manila Bulletin]

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From Manila Bulletin: Senator Lacson never accepted his own allotment – it was P200 million for senators and P70 million for congressman – in the old days of PDAF. Some of his colleagues in Congress today may not be ready to carry on without their pork in its new guise and may insist on the “SOP” devised by DBM. Then they must find, somewhere else in the bowels of the appropriation bill, the P25 billion needed for the new program of free college education.

Continue reading “Editorial: ‘Pork’ issue raised anew in search for SUC funds [Manila Bulletin]”

Lacson files LGU-Empowering Budget Reform Bill to Achieve Inclusive Growth

A budget reform bill by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson seeks to give local government units an active role in nation building by providing them with much-needed funding for their development projects.

Senate Bill 40, dubbed the Budget Reform for Village Empowerment Act of 2016, lets territorial and political subdivisions enjoy meaningful local autonomy to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities.

“By giving the LGUs the necessary wherewithal to be active participants in the development of our country, we will end the culture of mendicancy and political patronage that viciously thrive in our system. Ultimately, this will help us realize the elusive inclusive growth that we all aspire for as a nation,” he said, adding the bill seeks to distribute funds equitably among national government agencies and LGUs.

Related: LGU, direktang dadaluyan ng pondo sa panukala ni Ping Continue reading “Lacson files LGU-Empowering Budget Reform Bill to Achieve Inclusive Growth”

LGU, Direktang Dadaluyan ng Pondo sa Panukala ni Ping

Direkta nang madadaluyan ng pondo buhat sa kaban ng bayan ang mga lokal na pamahalaan upang matustusan ang mga pangangailangan ng mga proyektong pampayamayanan na ipinatutupad ng mga ito.

Ito ay sa pamamagitan ng inaasahang mabilis na pagsasabatas sa Senate Bill 40 na pinamagatang Budget Reform for Village Empowerment Act of 2016 na isinulong ni Senador Panfilo Lacson sa hangaring magkaroon ng mas makatuwirang pondo para sa mga proyekto ang mga lokal na pamahalaan.

“It is hoped that by giving the LGUs the necessary wherewithal to be active participants in the development of our country, we will end the culture of mendicancy and political patronage that viciously thrive in our system,” paliwanag ni Lacson sa pagsasampa ng naturang panukala.

Related: Lacson files LGU-empowering budget reform bill to achieve inclusive growth Continue reading “LGU, Direktang Dadaluyan ng Pondo sa Panukala ni Ping”

Lacson Bill Lets People Monitor Budget Process

The “scheming and scamming” that allowed corruption to creep into the budget will soon be countered with a bill allowing ordinary people to keep watch over all aspects of the budget process.  Continue reading “Lacson Bill Lets People Monitor Budget Process”