Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson pushed for a P250-million allocation in the 2026 budget to fully operationalize the newly reorganized Judicial Integrity Office (JIO), saying it will boost accountability and help curb corruption in the courts.
During debates on the Judiciary’s budget, Lacson said the amount is minimal compared to the billions lost to corruption, citing the P100-billion insertion he flagged in the 2025 budget. He said the period of amendments is the right time to add the needed funding.
Budget sponsor Senator Francis Pangilinan noted that Senate Finance chair Sherwin Gatchalian appeared supportive.
Lacson also expressed hope that the new Judicial Autonomy Act will allow the Judiciary to submit its own budget by 2027.
He lamented that the judiciary’s requested P90.7B for 2026 was slashed to P67.66B in the National Expenditure Program , while some executive agencies, he said, are “wallowing in allocations.”IMT
