Lacson bares new details on 2025 budget insertions

Senator Panfilo Lacson gave new details on the money trail behind the 2025 budget insertions, clarifying the claims made by former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co.

In a radio interview over DZRH, Lacson echoed the statements he made during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, noting that the deliveries were made in boxes, not the suitcases depicted in Co’s video.

The senator stressed the money never reached President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Instead, he said, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo handed over the funds to former Education Undersecretary Trygve Olaivar and ex-Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, who then oversaw the distribution of the P100 billion.

Lacson said the armored vans carrying the cash were parked at the Diamond Hotel and were seen going in and out of the premises from February to April 2024. He added that one delivery experienced a delay due to the tense political climate surrounding the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

While Co’s claim of personally delivering P25 billion was disproven, Lacson confirmed that the insertions to the budget were real — and offered additional context on how the funds were moved and managed.

“We validated it with the GAA — it (funds) was really there. It’s not very accurate, there were typos, but it matches,” he said in the radio interview, affirming that the amounts and items were largely consistent with Co’s list despite minor discrepancies.

The Senate hearings had highlighted that almost all the senators in the 19th Congress made significant insertions into the 2025 General Appropriations Act, with individual allocations amounting to several billion pesos each.

Lacson noted that while insertions themselves are legal, the process is vulnerable to misuse, allowing middle-level officials to manipulate allocations and misrepresent orders as coming from higher-ups.

By linking the evidence from the Diamond Hotel deliveries to Co’s statements, the senator underscored the systemic weaknesses in the budget process, while clarifying that the President was not personally involved.