Tag: veto

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Lacson Welcomes Veto of Non-Essential Allocations, Prohibition on Political Involvement in ‘Ayuda’ in 2026 Budget

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson welcomed on Monday President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s veto of non-essential funds under the unprogrammed appropriations – as well as the prohibition of political involvement in the distribution of “ayuda” – in the newly signed Republic Act 12314, the national budget for 2026.

Lacson noted two of the items that survived the veto – the government support to foreign-assisted projects and the revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program – are needed for economic development and national security.

During deliberations on the then budget bill last December, Lacson pushed for the trimming of the unprogrammed allocations to include only funds for legitimate items such as foreign-assisted projects and the AFP modernization program.

“P150.905 billion is the exact amount that survived the veto, of which, P97.3 billion for Government Support to Foreign-Assisted Projects, P3.6 billion for Program on Risk Management, and P50 billion for the revised AFP Modernization Program. All other seven items under UA were vetoed,” Lacson said.

“We need the government support to Foreign Assisted Projects and the Revised AFP Modernization Program as our commitments to our economic development and national security,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson, Ikinatuwa ang Pag-Veto sa Di-Mahahalagang Alokasyon at Pagbawal sa Pag-Epal sa ‘Ayuda’ sa 2026 Budget

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Lacson Pushes Open Bicam, Longer ‘Review’ Period for Budget Bill

Opening the bicameral conference committee proceedings on the national budget to the public may not fully prevent the insertion of “pork barrel” funds, but it would certainly help pinpoint the lawmakers who attempt to do so, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Wednesday.

Lacson said the “Open Bicam” that he and fellow lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives are pushing will be a big step towards transparency in the budget process.

Also, he pushed for longer periods for the Senate to review the House’s amendments to the National Expenditure Program, and for Congress to review and revise the budget bill if the President vetoes it.

“It is still possible that some insertions could be made, but at least we can identify those who did so for their projects. We can track the differences between the General Appropriations Bill and the National Expenditure Program, with the public observing and with minutes and transcripts of the proceedings,” he said in Filipino in an interview on Bombo Radyo Philippines.

“For their part, lawmakers will think twice before making insertions or realignments because they can be identified,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson, Itinulak ang Open Bicam, Sapat na ‘Review’ Period para sa Budget Bill

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On the Signing of the 2025 Budget

Having vetoed only P26.065 billion from the P288-billion “congressional insertions”, mostly in the bicameral conference, the budget for education is still not “assigned the highest budgetary priority” contrary to Article XIV Sec 5(5) of the 1987 Constitution.

That being said, Malacañang may already be preparing for any constitutional challenge that may arise from this – both before the Supreme Court and the court of public opinion.

Related: On the Slash in the DepEd’s Budget

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On the Non-Vetoing of the P450-B Extra Unprogrammed Appropriations in the 2024 Budget

If not clarified by the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Art VI, Sec 25 of the 1987 Constitution, what can prevent Congress from adding P1 trillion or even more in the next succeeding budget deliberations, so we borrow more to fund the excess in the Unprogrammed Fund under the NEP?

Needless to say, this is a very bad precedent, especially so that Congress has developed the new penchant for realigning the budget to and from the Unprogrammed Appropriations.

To illustrate my point: Under the 2022 GAA, Congress managed to realign to the Unprogrammed Appropriations under the Special Purpose Fund the amount of P100 billion; while under the 2023 GAA, they realigned a total of P219 billion to the Unprogrammed Appropriations.

Under the same scheme of realignments, mostly done in the bicameral conference committee level, they also realigned hundreds of billions of pesos from the Unprogrammed Appropriations to the regular budget to fund their so-called “pet projects.”

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On the Presidential Veto of the Proposed SIM Card Registration Act

I may have to agree with the presidential veto. Mandating social media registration could be violative of the “one subject one title rule” as defined under the 1987 Constitution, not to mention the absence of safeguards or guidelines in the said provision not even covered by the title of the measure itself.

That being said, my version of the bill simply calls for the mandatory registration of all the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards with the service providers as being practiced in other jurisdictions.

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