Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson disclosed on Sunday that senators in the 19th Congress inserted at least P100 billion into the proposed 2025 national budget, with some individual lawmakers allocating as much as P5 to P9 billion each.
In a radio interview, Lacson stated that these were individual insertions by “almost all” senators, though the funds have been marked “for later release.”
He expressed surprise at the scale, noting that during the PDAF era before it was declared unconstitutional, such allocations typically amounted to hundreds of millions, not billions.
“Before, when PDAF wasn’t yet declared unconstitutional, allocations were in the hundreds of millions. Now it’s at least P100 billion total for 24 senators alone,” Lacson said.
While budget insertions themselves are not illegal, Lacson questioned the massive amounts, warning they could threaten the economy by diverting funds from properly planned infrastructure projects.
He also noted that the list of House members with similar insertions appears to be long, though he has yet to scrutinize it thoroughly.
Lacson plans to question concerned agencies during upcoming budget deliberations about why these insertions were permitted and how they will be implemented.
He called on fellow lawmakers to exercise self-restraint, particularly regarding infrastructure projects in agencies like the DPWH, DepEd, and DOTr.
The senator also appealed to colleagues to avoid the so-called “leadership fund” in the DPWH that allows project insertions at the National Expenditure Program level.
Amid the ongoing flood control project scandal, Lacson emphasized that Congress must begin rebuilding public trust by ensuring a transparent, pork-free budget.
“We must start the process of reform with the preparations for the 2026 budget,” he said, noting that the timing is appropriate with the budget bill currently under deliberation. — iNewsPH.com
