SENATE President pro tempore Panfilo Lacson yesterday said that members of the House of Representatives have their own “humongous” share of insertions in the 2025 national budget.
Based on documents, Lacson said, a list of House members who made insertions in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) “was like a roll call.”
Lacson on Sunday said some P100 billion worth of insertions were made by “almost all senators” of the 19th Congress in the 2025 budget.
Asked yesterday for the total amount of House insertions, told radio dzBB they are “much, much more.”
The House has not issued a statement on the matter.
Lacson clarified that amendments aka insertions in the proposed budget are not illegal or evil as they are part of lawmakers’ mandate in shaping the national budget but said this has been abused.
“Introducing insertions are not illegal. It is our mandate as lawmakers to review the National Expenditure Program and introduce amendments. The problem is that many lawmakers abused this mandate,” Lacson said in a mix of Filipino and English in then interview on radio dzBB.
Lacson earlier said the insertions made by almost all of the 24 senators of the 19th Congress were held and tagged “for later release” (FLR). He said the senator’s insertions were for the DPWH budget alone for the implementation of infrastructure projects, including flood control projects.
He said the DPWH received the “massive insertions” because several lawmakers were likely in collusion with corrupt department officials so they can get huge kickbacks, even if it means giving the agency a much higher budget that the education sector, in violation of the 1987 Constitution.
“The system of corruption has been in place, with lawmakers dealing with the district engineer and former (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bonoan. That’s the pattern. You see the DPWH getting a bigger budget than the education sector because everyone involved got greedier and greedier and stuffed the DPWH’s budget. That is unacceptable,” he said.
To prevent similar incidents, Lacson said lawmakers must ensure that the budget process be made fully transparent, especially during the period of individual amendments in the plenary.
“This is the reason why we need to be totally transparent in the budget deliberations of the 2026 budget measure, especially during the period of individual amendments in plenary. The Senate must lead the way in this regard, at least by revealing the identities of the proponents of such individual amendments,” he added.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said not all insertions or amendments, whether individual or institutional, which were done during the deliberations in the Senate plenary are illegal since they are part of the regular budget process.
In a statement, Sotto said that the recent controversies hounding flood control projects have affected and generalized that all amendments as “illegal or improper.”
“Some of these amendments are for additional classrooms, farm to market roads and bridges that will benefit our people, especially those in the far-flung provinces. Some of which were never funded and were tagged ‘for later release (FLR),’” Sotto said.
Sotto, in a manifestation before the plenary, said amending the proposed budget is within the lawmakers’ mandate as it “serves a crucial check and balance mechanism to ensure that public funds are spent in accordance with the law.”
He said some of the amendments came from local government units that were not included in their respective Regional Councils due to “numerous reasons.”
He added the amendments were for the construction of additional classrooms, farm-to-market roads, and bridges that will benefit the people.
“I would like to make it clear that whatever budgetary amendments the senators proposed, the money for these projects do not in any way to through the Senate as some of our kababayans think. It goes directly to the implementing agencies under the Executive Department,” he said.
Sotto said he called for a caucus before the start of their plenary session, where it was agreed that the Senate will institute changes in the budget process for “greater transparency, people’s participation, and accountability.”
“The Senate is one with the nation in ensuring that the taxes paid by the public will be used correctly,” he added.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said not all amendments were “bad” especially if they are to help agencies and departments.
“One of our tasks is to introduce amendments after the budget hearings to support and further improve programs and projects. Amendments are not tainted as long as there is no post enactment intervention,” Ejercito said.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is committed to make sure the proposed P6.79-trillion national budget for 2026 will be free from anomalies ,including questionable insertions.
Castro said the President also wants to make sure that the budget is allocated to the right programs and services that would really benefit the Filipinos.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) dismissed as “divisive rhetoric” the claim of Rep. Elijah San Fernando, of the party-list group Kamanggagawa that the agency has “ghost accomplishments.”
Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., in a statement, said such “unfounded claims” can unjustly undermine the dedication and hard work of the women and men of OPAPRU.
“We welcome and are fully open to the public scrutiny of our operations and financial transactions, which are funded by the nation’s taxpayers and supported by international partners dedicated to the country’s goal of building prosperous, peaceful communities,” Galvez said. – With Jocelyn Reyes
He said OPAPRU is firmly committed to the principles of transparency and accountability and has established monitoring mechanisms derived from the peace agreements to track its performance and accomplishments.
