Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Sunday warned that the struggle over the 2026 national budget does not end with its passage and signing into law, but merely shifts to a more perilous phase — one where vigilance must confront entrenched forces that have long operated beyond public sight.

Lacson said religious groups and civil society organizations have played a decisive role in closely monitoring the bicameral deliberations on the budget, but stressed that attention must now turn to how the executive branch will wield public funds next year.

“The same vigilance shown by the public, led by the Catholic Church, religious groups and civil society organizations, must be maintained in watching over the budget’s implementation,” Lacson said in a radio interview.

“Our people must not let down their guard because the 2026 budget will show if there is indeed reform for our government and our nation. We must learn from the lessons of corruption in the budgets of 2025 and prior years,” he added.

Those lessons loom large.

The 2025 budget has been repeatedly branded in political circles as the “most corrupt ever,” amid allegations of ghost flood control projects and massive insertions in public works allocations, lapping at the very doorstep of Malacañang, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his cousin, former Speaker Martin Romualdez, accused of receiving billions in kickbacks from substandard or ghost flood control projects.

The controversy has entered another phase after documents detailing project insertions bandied about by Rep. Leandro Leviste surfaced, allegedly spreading moolah or kickbacks across both chambers of Congress.

The documents were linked to the now-deceased ex-public works official, Maria Catalina Cabral, who reportedly died by suicide before the allegations could be fully examined.

Leviste claimed he got the documents from Cabral himself after being told by Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon to do so in the spirit of "transparency."

Dizon and the Palace have both refused to validate the so-called “Cabral files” held by Leviste, engaging the latter in a veritable word war, with Palace spokesperson, Undersecretary Claire Castro leading the government's charge.

Leviste claimed the list contained all 24 senators who participated in the 2025 budget passage.

The legislative district of the President’s son, House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, received the biggest allocation, according to the Cabral list published by Leviste.

Separate claims by expelled lawmaker Zaldy Co alleged that billions of pesos in kickbacks were delivered to the residences of the President and Romualdez, with former Marine Orly Guteza initially owning up as an alleged courier.

All accused parties, Marcos and Romualdez included, have denied wrongdoing.

As the scrutiny intensified, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) which Marcos created was left largely hollowed out by resignations this week, leaving only its chair, former Supreme Court justice Andy Reyes, to preside over a body touted to bring transparency to infrastructure spending.

However, the ICI, its critics have maintained, had been established precisely to ensure that the controversy does not hit the biggest players, the President's men, if not the President himself.

It is against this backdrop that Lacson acknowledged that even reform-minded lawmakers operate at a disadvantage once the budget leaves Congress.

Lacson said that although a majority of his colleagues in the Senate share a reform-oriented mindset, the chamber has only 24 members, underscoring the need for public support in ensuring accountability.

“Since there are only 24 of us, we should have the support of many Filipinos. So I will say, may the force be with us,” he said.

Earlier, Lacson said the Senate attempted to embed safeguards into the 2026 budget through general and special provisions meant to restrain abuses once funds are released.

Among these are a prohibition on guarantee letters and any form of political branding or “epal” in the distribution of government assistance.

He added that Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients must be implemented strictly under the Universal Health Care program and in compliance with the UHC law.

Lacson also said the Senate mandated monthly oversight of infrastructure and farm-to-market road projects, including the use of grid coordinates, to allow easier monitoring by the media and the public.

He stressed that these measures will only matter if citizens remain watchful, saying the fate of the 2026 budget will be decided not by the words written into law, but its implementation.