Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Monday, 29 December, voted "yes" in ratifying the P6.793-trillion national budget for the year 2026.

Lacson, however, opposed the funds allocated to Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially-Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), and other projects, he said could open the door to possible political patronage.

“The national budget must not be a political tool or spoils for those in power. We deserve a budget that truly serves the people, free from political exploitation,” he stressed.

“While we have made headway, the path forward remains extensive," he added.

In airing his reservations, Lacson cited the lack of a solid legal foundation for fund allocations of the MAIFIP, AICS, and similar programs.

He also cited the “absence of institutional safeguards from the interference, influence, representation, whether directly or indirectly, of incumbent public officials, electoral candidates, politicians, or any of their representatives over any aspect of the programs’ implementation — a clear manifestation of how our budget is not insulated from political patronage.”

Still, Lacson commended the Senate finance committee led by its chair Sherwin Gatchalian “for standing our ground in defending and crafting a reformed national budget for Fiscal Year 2026.”

“For the first time in the history of our nation, the public was granted unrestricted access to the budget books and deliberations, ensuring the highest standard of scrutiny and moving beyond closed-door politics to a budget answerable to the people,” he said.

The national budget will be transmitted to the Palace for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to sign.

On 13 December, the first-ever live-streamed bicameral conference committee for the national budget convened at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay.