Palace, House showdown looms large over budget

A brewing confrontation looms between Malacañang and the House of Representatives as Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Rep. Terry Ridon traded barbs over alleged corruption and budget manipulation tied to the scandal-ridden flood control projects.

Ridon on Sunday dared Bersamin to name lawmakers he accused of corruption, after the latter slammed the House for “attempting to shift the blame for their own corruption and failures” onto the Executive Branch by pushing to revert the proposed 2026 national budget.

“Perhaps, Executive Secretary Bersamin should disclose the names of the congressmen he was referring to as corrupt. I think he has to be able to say that to our faces,” Ridon said, partly in Filipino. “The question for him tomorrow, I think, would be: what is their corruption and who are these corrupt congressmen?”

Bersamin, who is set to defend the P27.28 billion proposed budget of the Office of the President before lawmakers today, 8 September, doubled down on his criticism of the House.

Of the total proposed budget for the Office of the President, P10.77 billion will go to confidential (P4.368 billion) and intelligence (P6.398 billion) funds.

“We are not comfortable with [returning the NEP] because the executive is put in a bad light. We did not provoke anybody, but we just said that we are objecting to the announced objective of returning the NEP to us. That should not happen,” Bersamin said in an ambush interview.

He maintained that his rebuke of House members was a consensus among Cabinet officials, noting, “We have been very consistent in cooperating with either house of Congress. We have been open. We have not held back. If they want us to change some things, we will change. We do not have objections.”

‘Blame game’ over NEP

The spat was triggered after senior lawmakers, led by Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno, blasted the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for submitting a “poorly constructed” 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

They flagged duplicate and suspiciously uniform allocations worth P73 million to P93 million for flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Puno described the NEP as “trash,” and suggested that the DBM could be in cahoots with the DPWH. Lawmakers initially floated returning the NEP to the budget department, but Speaker Martin Romualdez—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cousin—blocked the move.

Ridon backed the House concern, saying the questionable projects were part of the “executive proposal” in the 2025 NEP, not congressional insertions.

He cited the ghost P55-million reinforced concrete river wall in Baliwag, Bulacan, the crumbling P380-million dike in San Teodoro, Oriental Mindoro, and substandard flood mitigation works in Bulacan and Benguet—all inspected by Marcos himself.

“First off, no one is blaming the Palace, the President of the Philippines, for anything regarding flood control projects. That’s the first thing that needs to be clarified,” Ridon said.

“It came directly from the DPWH [budget]. So, it’s not our fault that those were the result of Congress’ further study of the areas visited by the President,” he explained.

‘Congressional insertions’

However, Ridon acknowledged that some projects were indeed congressional insertions, citing the P96-million “ghost” flood control project in Plaridel, Bulacan, inspected last week by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon. That project was not in the NEP or General Appropriations Bill but was included in the General Appropriations Act.

He further flagged other “misallocations” in the 2026 budget: a P1 billion Department of Health allocation for hospital and rural health units allegedly diverted to office beautification, and an P8-billion firearms procurement under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which he said lacked the required approval from then-PNP chief Nicolas Torre III.

Torre’s refusal to sign was speculated to have played a role in his removal as PNP chief. The probe on the firearms could drag Bersamin into the very kind of inquiry he accused lawmakers of politicizing.

This as one Jozy Acosta has alleged that the plan to buy rifles for the Philippine National Police was rejected by Torre III for being overpriced and tied to a private supplier allegedly connected to Bersamin’s family.

“I don’t think Executive Secretary Bersamin can actually say that there is an actual deflection...The concerns of the congressmen about the NEP, I think that’s something really serious also,” he stressed. “This trading of barbs between the House and the Palace is unproductive, and the real deflection is from the flood control.”

Also on Sunday, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Sunday threw his full support behind Marcos’ campaign against corruption in flood-control projects.

“We have your back, Sir,” Lacson posted on X (formerly Twitter), echoing Marcos’ emotional remarks on the plight of hardworking Filipinos burdened by substandard public services and worsening floods.

“We feel you, Mr. President. You have given me and my team the firm resolve to do our part in exposing, even compiling solid evidence to nail these ‘greedy flood-control profiteers’ and their cohorts both in the public and private sectors,” he added.

The President, in a teaser video for an upcoming podcast episode released Saturday night, appeared visibly emotional as he decried the injustice faced by ordinary Filipinos, while a corrupt few continue to enrich themselves at the public’s expense.

Lawmakers from both chambers of Congress had been linked to the flood-control scandal. In a privilege speech, Lacson said about 67 House members are either contractors for government projects or are linked to those companies.

Likewise, Senate President Francis Escudero and Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva have also been dragged into the substandard or ghost project controversy.

Escudero admitted receiving P30 million in campaign funds for the 2022 elections from Lawrence Lubiano, one of the personalities tagged by Marcos in dubious flood-control projects.

Villanueva’s name surfaced after videos and photos circulated showing him with sacked DPWH engineer Henry Alcantara. In one video, Alcantara thanked Villanueva for backing a P68.8-million bridge and view deck renovation in Bocaue, Bulacan, in 2021.