Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson plans to scrutinize supposed questionable realignments in the billions of pesos from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget, particularly funds allegedly diverted from flood control projects to farm-to-market roads, ayuda or financial assistance programs, and so-called “Super Health Centers.”

Calling it “dubious,” Lacson said an initial review revealed that some P255.5 billion in the 2026 national budget was shifted from DPWH flood control allocations to other programs.

These include projects under the Department of Health’s Health Facility Enhancement Program, which finances the construction of Super Health Centers, as well as various local infrastructure and social aid initiatives.

“Much of the realignments went to farm-to-market roads. The question is did the list of such roads come from the Department of Agriculture or from congressmen?” Lacson said.

He also pointed out that certain “ayuda” programs appear to be funded through unprogrammed appropriations, allocations that are not part of the regular budget and may not have clear funding sources.

“We intend to uproot these and return them to the regular budget,” he said.

Lacson said he will push for the consolidation of all ayuda and social welfare funds under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which screens and supports qualified families with livelihood and education assistance.

He also called for the realignment of around P2 billion from legislators’ “Tulong Dunong” scholarship funds to the Free Tertiary Education Act to promote greater transparency and make scholarships more accessible to students.

The Senate, Lacson said, will move to strike out “alien” and turo-turo items from the 2026 General Appropriations Bill once deliberations begin next week.

He explained that “alien” refers to budget items that don’t appear in the differing provisions of the Senate and House versions of the budget bill, while turo-turo refers to programs added arbitrarily or based on political favors.

“The Senate will move to realign those turo-turo items to fund meaningful programs like Universal Health Care (UHC),” he said.

Lacson disclosed that he and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian are working on consolidating the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients fund under the UHC program. This would transfer the responsibility of identifying beneficiaries from lawmakers to the Department of Health.

“Our work as lawmakers is to legislate and exercise oversight, not to implement laws,” Lacson said. “Let’s make our programs systematic, not whimsical, arbitrary, and patronage-based.”