Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday vowed to closely scrutinize the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) proposed 2026 budget, particularly the P46 billion in realignments reportedly made by the House of Representatives for ayuda or social assistance programs.

Lacson questioned the sudden hike in funding for social amelioration programs at the expense of infrastructure, particularly flood control projects that had earlier been flagged for involvement in corruption.

“We expect the House version of the General Appropriations Bill to be transmitted to us soon. We will compare this House version with the National Expenditure Program to check which items received a spike in funding,” Lacson said in a radio interview.

House of Representatives’ realignments reportedly redirected P32.6 billion to the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) and P14.82 billion to the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD). This raised the proposed 2026 budget for the AICS to P59.5 billion and for TUPAD to P26.9 billion.

The DPWH earlier cut its proposed 2026 budget to P625.7 billion, scrapping all locally funded flood control projects and dropping items flagged as corruption-prone, such as road reblocking and road stud installations.

Lacson underscored the need for fiscal discipline and transparency, pointing to recent controversies over infrastructure funds and recalling the 2013 pork barrel scandal linked to Janet Napoles.

“We should be horrified by what happened. Let’s not allow the problem to linger. Let us also help find ways to bring down our debt because our debt has grown so big,” Lacson said.

The senator urged his colleagues to exercise restraint in proposing budget realignments, warning that unchecked discretion could once again lead to wasteful or corrupt spending.

“We have barely recovered from the Napoles scandal when we got hit by the controversy over flood control projects. What’s next?” he asked.

The Senate will tackle the DPWH’s proposed budget in October, where Lacson vowed to zero in on the deliberations.

Marcoleta wants aid budget for electricity

Meanwhile, Senator Rodante Marcoleta is pushing to divert P18 billion from overlapping social aid programs into subsidizing electricity bills for poor households.

At a DSWD budget hearing, Marcoleta cited a Commission on Audit (CoA) report flagging a duplication between the AICS and AKAP, saying that both aid programs were prone to political misuse.

He proposed realigning the P17.7-billion 2026 AICS budget to cover power subsidies for 5.5 million low-income families using up to 230 kWh monthly. The plan aligns with his Senate Bill 63 which seeks to expand the lifeline rate subsidy under the EPIRA.

“This way, subsidies will go directly to families without politicians claiming credit,” Marcoleta said, questioning the legal basis for the AICS since it operates only on internal guidelines.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, meanwhile, said his agency is open to reforms depending on Congress’ final budget decision.