Senator Panfilo Lacson said the real test of the 2026 national budget will be its proper implementation, stressing that public vigilance must continue even after the measure is approved and signed into law.
Lacson said that while religious and civil society groups closely monitored the bicameral budget deliberations, their next challenge is to watch how the executive branch spends public funds in 2026.
“The same vigilance showed by the public led by the Catholic Church, religious groups and civil society organizations must be maintained in watching over the budget’s implementation… We must learn from the lessons of corruption in the budgets of 2025 and prior years,” he said in a DWIZ interview.
He noted that with only 24 senators, public support is crucial in flagging irregularities. “I hope that since there are only 24 of us, we should have the support of many Filipinos. So I will say, may the force be with us,” he added.
Lacson said the Senate inserted general and special provisions as safeguards, including banning guarantee letters and “epal” in all aid programs, strict implementation of Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients under the Universal Health Care law, and monthly oversight of infrastructure and farm-to-market road projects with grid coordinates for public monitoring.IMT
