A bold solution to remove pork barrel insertions from the annual national budget was proposed yesterday, which is for the Senate to adopt the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP), or the President’s budget, in full, without any congressional insertions or realignments.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who made the proposal, said this would combat the persistent corruption in the national budgeting process.

Lacson floated the idea in a radio interview, describing it as a “one-year experiment” aimed at curbing the annual controversy surrounding budget manipulation by lawmakers.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. during his last State of the Nation Address (SoNA) ranted against corrupt practices in flood control projects, exclaiming “Mahiya naman kayo” which was believed addressed to members of Congress.

Under a devious scheme through the conspiracy in the bicameral conference committee, unprogrammed appropriations (UA), which are standby spending contingent on increased collections, had ballooned from P281 billion in 2024 to P731 billion in 2025.

The UA became a repository of budget items that were bumped off to make room for pork insertions by members of Congress.

The bicam’s 2025 budget report, rushed on 11 December 2024, left most cuts from the regular budgets of agencies unexplained, while the UA swelled.

The President had exposed 15 contractors as having cornered P100 billion worth of flood control contracts in the past three years.

A lawmaker-friend of Lacson revealed that in 2022, 67 House members were also contractors for public projects.

“For a change, why not have the Senate adopt the NEP so that if there are problems in implementing projects in 2026, it will be on the executive branch,” Lacson said.

“At least if it’s the NEP, I’m sure the items in it were studied carefully by the implementing agencies concerned,” he added.

The senator, a long-time watchdog against pork barrel allocations and other forms of budget irregularities, said he may move to formally propose the adoption of the NEP at the upcoming budget briefing of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) later this month.

Lacson emphasized that both chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives, could adopt the NEP as submitted by Malacañang and assume the role of monitoring and ensuring the proper implementation of projects, rather than altering the budget.

“This will be a one-year experiment. If it fails, we go back to the realignments,” Lacson said, underscoring the temporary and evaluative nature of his proposal.

Lacson has repeatedly criticized the practice of post-submission budget insertions, which he claimed opened the door to questionable projects and favors, often pushed through in the name of political expediency.

His proposal is seen as a challenge to the longstanding tradition of congressional budget tinkering, which has often drawn allegations of corruption and inefficiency.

The NEP, prepared annually by the executive branch, is the government’s official spending blueprint and is submitted to Congress for approval.

Lawmakers typically scrutinize and amend the document before passing the General Appropriations Act (GAA), a process that has historically allowed room for so-called “pork barrel” funds and other discretionary items.

DPWH chief slapped down

Lacson also rejected Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan’s assertion that ghost flood control projects in Bulacan were an “isolated case.”

In the radio interview, Lacson said his team’s investigations revealed that questionable and non-existent infrastructure projects went well beyond Bulacan’s First Engineering District, which contradicted the DPWH Secretary’s downplaying of the issue.

“When you say it is an isolated case, it sounds like a defense mechanism. It suggests you don’t intend to conduct a full-scale and comprehensive investigation. And I expected that, so I had my teams check projects in other areas,” Lacson said.

“I expected that ‘isolated case’ line, and I can say this is not an isolated case. That is why we conducted case studies in Pampanga, Northern Luzon, and other areas, just to debunk the claims that Bulacan is an isolated case,” he added.

He was referring to reports quoting Bonoan as saying that, based on reports by those who validated the projects, it was only in Bulacan’s first engineering district that they found some ghost projects.

Lacson, in a recent privilege speech, detailed irregularities in flood control projects not only in Bulacan but also in Pampanga, La Union, and Oriental Mindoro.

He noted that multiple instances of defective or ghost projects suggested a wider pattern of corruption, not isolated lapses.

Bonoan earlier claimed that only Bulacan’s first district had reported such irregularities, based on project validation reports. But Lacson pointed to broader findings that indicated the systemic nature of the problem, raising doubts about the accuracy or transparency of the DPWH’s internal assessments.

When asked if syndicates could be operating within the DPWH without the head office’s knowledge, Lacson acknowledged the possibility but stressed that accountability still rested with Bonoan.

“He may not be aware of it, but it is still his responsibility. Now is the time to audit everything, at least when it comes to flood control projects,” Lacson said.

The senator called on the DPWH to launch a full internal audit, particularly of flood control programs, and urged the Commission on Audit (CoA) to pursue a comprehensive fraud audit.

He emphasized that public funds must be allocated based on local needs and not diverted to corruption.

“The allocation of funds for projects in an area should be based on the needs and priorities of the constituents. So I hope it will come out in the audit,” he said.

He also left the door open for a follow-up privilege speech, should his team uncover further evidence of wrongdoing.

In the meantime, Lacson encouraged citizens and media to report questionable government projects through the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” platform and reiterated the need for consequences for those found guilty.

“I hope the investigations bear fruit and those responsible will be punished, charged, and jailed,” he said.

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