Tag: Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian

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Lacson: Senate Leadership Change Won’t Slow Budget Hearings

The change of leadership in the Senate will not affect or slow down the hearings of the Senate committee on finance, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson assured on Tuesday.

Lacson said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian will stay as chairman of the Finance Committee that is handling the hearings on the proposed 2026 national budget.

“Hindi. Mananatili siyang chairman. After all, part siya ng bagong majority so hindi maalis sa kanya ang finance committee (Sen. Gatchalian will remain as chairman of the Senate finance committee. After all, he is part of the new majority),” he said in an interview on DZBB radio, when asked if there will be changes in the chairmanship of the said committee.

In Filipino: Lacson: Leadership Change sa Senado, Hindi Makakaapekto sa Budget Hearings

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Lacson Scores Early Win in Demands for Full Transparency from Senators, House Members in Budget Amendments

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Wednesday scored an early win in his efforts to ensure transparency in the budget process, after he set two demands to which Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian agreed.

Following a “solution-finding discussion” Wednesday morning, Lacson said Gatchalian agreed to name the proponents of the amendments on the floor, to put it on record.

“We agreed that when any of our colleagues will seek clarification on particular insertions or realignments or amendments, then the chairman of the finance committee will divulge the identity or identities of the proponents of the amendments on the floor, to make it of record,” Lacson said in his manifestation during the discussion of amendments to Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4, which aims to ensure transparency in deliberations for the 2026 budget.

In Filipino: Lacson, Iginiit ang Full Transparency Mula sa Mga Mambabatas sa mga Amyenda sa Badyet

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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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Lacson Scores ‘Shameless Hypocrites’ Who Applauded President’s ‘Mahiya Naman Kayo’ Remark; Pushes Independent Flood Control Probe

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Thursday scored the “shameless hypocrites” who were among the lawmakers who applauded President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s “Mahiya naman kayo” pronouncement in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), regarding anomalies in flood control projects.

“I would like to think that the standing ovation during the President’s SONA meant that there were still members of Congress whose hands remain unsoiled by grease money from the graft-ridden flood control projects. The others who also applauded were simply shameless hypocrites,” he said in a post on X.

In Filipino: Lacson, Pinuna ang ‘Ipokrito at Ipokrita’ na Nakipagpalakpakan sa Pasaring ng Pangulo; Isinulong ang Independent Flood Control Probe

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