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

Calling the realignments “dubious,” Lacson said an initial review revealed that around P255.5 billion in the proposed 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 (HFEP), 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, is the list of such roads from the Department of Agriculture or from congressmen?” Lacson said.

He also flagged that certain “ayuda” programs appear to be funded through unprogrammed appropriations, which are not part of the regular budget and may lack secure funding sources.

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

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 assists qualified families. He also recommended realigning P2 billion from legislators’ “Tulong Dunong” scholarship allocations to the Free Tertiary Education Act for improved transparency and access.

The Senate, he said, will move to strike out “alien” and “turo-turo” items once budget deliberations begin next week. “Alien” refers to items not found in the reconciled versions of the budget bill, while “turo-turo” pertains to arbitrary, patronage-driven insertions.

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

He added that he and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian are working to consolidate the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) fund under the UHC program so that beneficiary identification is handled by the Department of Health—not lawmakers.

“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.”