Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is pushing to ban lawmakers from inserting infrastructure projects in the national budget, saying such insertions fuel massive corruption like those exposed in flood control projects.
“Both houses of Congress must agree not to make insertions for infrastructure projects. Institutional amendments are allowed but other insertions must be removed,” Lacson said in Filipino in an interview on DZBB radio.
He noted that without insertions, officials in agencies like the DPWH would have no funds to misuse.
Instead, Lacson urged lawmakers to focus on institutional amendments, such as restoring the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s proposed P333.1-million budget, which was cut nearly in half in the NEP. The senator also called on the DBM to be more careful in recommending use of unprogrammed funds.
While sharing concerns that unprogrammed appropriations could be a form of pork barrel, he cautioned against scrapping them entirely, citing their role in funding foreign-assisted and big-ticket projects.
In a recent Blue Ribbon hearing, Lacson flagged P600 million in alleged flood control projects in Bulacan under the 2023 unprogrammed fund, which sacked DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez earlier linked to Senator Joel Villanueva. Villanueva had denied the allegation.IMT
