As the floodwaters rise across the country, so do the fears of corruption.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson sounded the alarm Monday over what he called “inequitable and distorted allocations” for flood control projects in the 2025 national budget, warning that the same old questionable spending practices are creeping back into the system.

In a searing radio interview, Lacson didn’t hold back, slamming the secretive nature of the budget deliberations—particularly the bicameral conference committee meetings—as the breeding ground for backdoor deals, far removed from public scrutiny.

“I refiled this bill to make the people’s participation in gaming transparent,” he said.

“The bicam—that’s basically a whisper session where the media is asked to leave once the real discussion begins. The media are only there for the photo op. It opens, they convene, do a roll call, a few speeches, and then the media is out. After that, it’s just us talking behind closed doors,” Lacson said.

He referred to this as the “bulungan bicameral,” where crucial budget decisions are made in whispers, without public transcripts or documentation.

Lacson, known for his fiscal vigilance, ended by calling for greater accountability and public participation in what he described as a high-stakes and opaque process.

Budgeting woes

Previously, the senator revealed that some small towns with relatively low populations received disproportionately large appropriations for flood control.

He mentioned one barangay in a small municipality in Oriental Mindoro that reportedly received P1.9 billion, while another town with only 10,000 residents was allocated P10 billion.

“One small town got an appropriation of P10 billion. I will question whether they can absorb that amount. Imagine a P10-billion appropriation for a small town with 10,000 residents. It is an inequitable distribution of the budget,” he said.

“I will seek clarification on this. What happened to the P10 billion appropriated to the small town? We saw that it is near a riverbank, but is it the only town with a riverbank? These appropriations are for flood control,” he pointed out.

Lacson, who has resumed the scrutiny of the national budgets from 2023 to 2025, criticized the reemergence of flood control appropriations that had previously been removed due to concerns of corruption.

Before ending his Senate term in 2022, Lacson said he and former senator Franklin Drilon successfully pushed for the removal of dredging and flood control items in the national budget during the bicameral deliberations, citing their vulnerability to misuse.

He expressed frustration that these controversial provisions are now returning “with a vengeance.”

The senator also cited reports that equipment supposedly used in flood control efforts, such as backhoes, are sometimes deployed only during inspections, further fueling doubts about the authenticity of the projects.

“We succeeded in removing them in the bicam before we termed out in 2022. Now they’re back with a vengeance,” he said.

‘Pork barrel’ back

Lacson additionally pointed to what he called the ballooning of “pork barrel” allocations.

Back when the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was still in place, Lacson recalled that senators received around P200 million and congressmen about P70 million each from the fund.

Now, some senators have access to P5 to 10 billion, while some House members control up to P15 billion, he noted.

Lacson illustrated the country’s plight where it spends P16 billion but earns only P12 billion a day, thus needing to borrow P4 billion a day.

He warned that the country’s growing debt burden underscores the need for more prudent fiscal management.

“If we don’t shape up in preparing the budget, we may end up having to borrow P6 billion a day in one to two years, and P10 billion a day after five years. Where will we end up then?” he asked.

Lacson said he will formally question the allocations and seek transparency and accountability during upcoming budget deliberations.

Mangling national budget

Lacson also reacted to recent statements from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) which suggested that Cabinet secretaries had secured budget insertions even before formal hearings began.

“That’s where the fear of insertions and realignments starts,” Lacson said, citing concerns that legislators may ask for funding favors in exchange for political support.

Lacson pointed out the irony—even as Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman urged agencies to stick to what she called a “very tight” budget and refrain from seeking more funds once congressional deliberations begin, reports suggest she had been meeting privately with department heads to lock in their requested allocations.

Pangandaman was quoted as saying that she had been meeting with department secretaries to secure their agreement on budget levels and priorities, even before formal deliberations began.

Lacson emphasized that “there should be no more repetition of the mangling of the budget,” as in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which he noted was mangled “beyond recognition.”

“Whimsical and arbitrary insertions and realignments, usually contractor and supplier-driven amendments introduced by some self-aggrandizing senators and congressmen more often than not, not only contribute to more unused and misused appropriations in the implementation of the GAA, but worse, become tools of massive corruption,” he stressed.

Transparent bicam conference

Lacson renewed his push for transparency in the national budget process, urging that bicameral conference deliberations—where final budget versions are hammered out—be opened to the public, NGOs, CSOs, and the media.

“I’ve always fought for public access to the budget bicam,” he said, pointing out that closed-door sessions enable last-minute insertions and questionable allocations. He expressed the hope that transparency will finally take root in the 20th Congress, citing Speaker Martin Romualdez’s support.

“The public deserves to know where their money is going—not just after the budget is signed, but while it’s being written,” he said.