Lacson: Allocable funds worse than pork barrel

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson warned that allocable funds in the proposed 2025 national budget may be more troubling than the defunct pork barrel system, saying they could have cost the government an estimated ₱180 billion or more through “ghost” flood-control projects.

Allocable funds first appeared in 2022 and allow amounts to be set aside before specific projects are identified, Lacson said in an interview with DZBB Wednesday.

He described the practice as “whimsical” and called it baseless, with money allocated before any project proposal.

“Walang program or walang pinagbasehan. Parang whimsical masyado at saka nauuna ‘yung amount bago ‘yung project,” he said.

He also declared: “Talagang ‘di hamak na mas masama [ito sa pork barrel].” Earlier forms of pork barrel — such as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) — required project proposals before funds were released.

But under “allocables,” allocations precede project identification, undermining the established process.

Lacson warned that this new scheme — enshrined in the 2025 budget — funnels massive sums to lawmakers, party-list groups, and even “non-legislators,” including former officials.

Based on his scrutiny, the 2025 budget assigned as much as P143.5 billion in allocables to the House leadership alone.

The senator’s warning comes amid a broader investigation into alleged anomalies in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood-control projects — many of which have been flagged as “ghost” or overpriced schemes.

Lacson emphasized that the pattern of fund misuse is not isolated: systemic corruption appears to enable inflated budgets, repeated insertions, and duplicate project allocations — raising the risk of widespread diversion of public funds.

He urged Congress and oversight bodies to require project proposals first — before appropriations — and to increase transparency by exposing who files budget insertions. Otherwise, he warned, allocables may become another backdoor for massive misuse of public funds.