The proposed budget for 2027 allegedly contained a “uniform" P180-million lump sum allocation for the establishment of evacuation centers across the country, with a staggering combined total of over P3 billion, lacking crucial details. 

Senator Ping Lacson claimed Tuesday that this was based on the initial review of his office of the National Expenditure Program (NEP), which outlines the breakdown of allocations for each program and project of all government agencies for next year. 

The amount, he alleged, was uniformly distributed across 17 regions, but provided no details such as specific locations where the centers would be built.

“It could become an election or campaign budget this early because 2027 will bring us closer to the 2028 elections," he said in a radio interview.

The government’s practice of allocating a uniform budget for the scandal-ridden Department of Public Works and Highways has been a recurring trend over the years. 

Last year, during deliberations on the 2026 budget, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima also flagged the massive funding for multi-purpose buildings across different regions and legislative districts, with an identical budget of P50 million for each. 

De Lima’s observation came amid the administration's supposed budget reforms, which began last year following the corruption scandal in the flood control projects. 

The government did not fund new flood control projects this year, although critics believed the budget, susceptible to kickbacks, was merely redirected to other projects under the DPWH. 

Recall that the 2026 proposed budget of the DPWH was initially pegged at P881.31 billion under the NEP, but was trimmed down to P625.8 billion after the DPWH Secretary revised the agency’s budget. 

The revision stemmed from complaints by several House leaders that the DPWH budget under the NEP, prepared by the Department of Budget and Management, contained redundant entries and funding for flood control projects that had already been completed, while funding for ongoing and priority programs received zero allocation. 

The agency's budget was further slashed to P530.9 billion in the 2026 General Appropriations Act, supposedly to ensure there would be no room for kickbacks.

Meanwhile, despite anomalies, the government reinstated the budget for flood control projects under the DPWH for next year. 

A whopping P107.4 billion is earmarked for flood control projects, accounting for 16 percent of the agency’s total proposed allocation totaling P644 billion. 

As a result, the DPWH remains the second-largest recipient of the proposed 2027 budget allocation, next to the education sector.

Lacson pointed out that the lack of crucial details for evacuation centers raises suspicions that the projects might have lacked proper assessment. 

“That is not acceptable. There were no specifications or locations. Each of Regions 1 to 17 was simply given P180 million for a total of more than P3 billion," he stressed.

Another glaring example of a possible source for kickbacks, he added, is the massive allocation for “ayuda” or social services. 

Social services are set to receive the lion’s share of the P7.2 trillion proposed budget for 2027, at P2.456 trillion, to support education, health, social security protection, employment, and welfare, among others.

“The proposed 2027 budget seems to be very generous with ayuda. I told my staff to look closely at it and see if this could become an 'ayuda' budget. There's nothing wrong with 'ayuda,' but we should also look at the long-term development side of how the budget is used,” Lacson concluded. 

The Senate will start holding committee hearings to scrutinize next year’s proposed budget starting 27 August. 

The government’s “ayuda” programs have been widely criticized as vehicles for corruption, as they give lawmakers discretion over them and have been exploited for political patronage.

Amid public concerns that corruption may recur, the Senate has vowed not to allow last-minute changes to the 2027 budget during the bicameral conference, which is traditionally held behind closed doors to bypass public scrutiny.