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 said Tuesday that this was based on his office’s initial review of the National Expenditure Program (NEP), which details the allocations for each program and project of government agencies for the coming 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 (DPWH) 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 allocate funds for new flood-control projects this year. Critics, however, alleged that the budget was redirected to other DPWH projects and questioned whether those funds remained vulnerable to kickbacks.

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 about the DPWH budget in the NEP, prepared by the Department of Budget and Management.

They said it contained redundant entries and funding for flood control projects that had already been completed, while ongoing and priority programs received no 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.

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