Lacson denies ‘Senate pork’

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday dismissed allegations the Senate inserted a P17.9-billion pork barrel fund in the proposed 2026 national budget, saying the questioned amount was merely realigned to increase the subsistence allowance of the uniformed personnel.

Lacson said the claim by ACT Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio of a “Senate pork” was either a “trabahong tamad” (laziness) or a deliberate attempt to malign and destabilize the upper chamber.

“The Senate pork referred to by Rep. Tinio was actually realignments to increase the subsistence allowance of the uniformed personnel from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection and Philippine Coast Guard,” Lacson explained in a radio interview.

He said that Tinio was “either too lazy to do his research or malevolently destabilizing the Senate to take the heat off the House of Representatives.”

Tinio had claimed that the Senate version of the 2026 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) contained a P17.9-billion “LGU pork” and accused the Senate of cutting benefits for rank-and-file government employees to fund discretionary allocations for local government units.

Lacson denied the accusation, clarifying that the funds were realigned from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) to cover additional subsistence allowances for uniformed personnel.

“I want to clarify that what he said was wrong. The line taken from the MPBF, or Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund, was indeed realigned, but it went to the additional subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel,” he said.

Lacson emphasized that the move was an institutional amendment, noting that no individual senator stood to benefit from the realignment.

He reiterated his earlier assertion that he would not sign the bicameral conference committee report on the 2026 national budget unless any questionable provisions were corrected.

These include a proposed increase in the budget for the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients to P51 billion, as well as allocations for farm-to-market roads that he said may not have undergone proper vetting.

Lacson stressed the upper chamber’s commitment to transparency in the budget process and urged the media and the public to remain vigilant against the possible manipulation of the spending measure.

“All our Senate amendments are institutional and openly proposed on the Senate floor during the period of individual amendments,” Lacson said, noting that the proceedings were fully transcribed and are now part of the official Senate records.

He also pointed out that the bicameral conference committee deliberations are being livestreamed, allowing the public to closely monitor the discussions on the final version of the 2026 national budget.