Lacson: Senate majority backs purging 2027 budget of 'Pork'

Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson stated on Sunday, 1 November, that the Senate majority bloc is committed to stripping questionable allocations from the proposed 2027 national budget sent over by the House of Representatives.

Lacson voiced firm backing for Senate Finance Committee Chairman JV Ejercito, who is coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to remove infrastructure items lacking proper documentation. This initiative follows an audit showing that the DPWH project count jumped from 11,420 in the National Expenditure Program to 16,244 in the House version, introducing 6,271 new projects.

"We need to boost our infrastructure spending, but not at the expense of the reforms we want to institute. Every delayed project has an economic cost, and every anomalous, poorly vetted project costs us even more," Ejercito said.

"The majority of senators are rallying behind Senate Finance Committee Chairman JV Ejercito’s efforts to cleanse the 2027 budget of unwarranted, whimsical, and corruption-prone items. — ALL MEANS ALL!" Lacson said.

Lacson added that he believes no member of the majority bloc will attempt to insert pet projects.

"Sa Senate hindi ko alam kung may mangahas maglagay ng pet projects I don’t think so. Pag nagcha-chat kami, alam ko ramdam ko ang sentiment ng aking kasamahan (In the Senate, I don't know if anyone would dare put pet projects—I don't think so. When we chat, I know, I can feel the sentiment of my colleagues)," he said.

The Senate will resume plenary debates concerning the 2027 budget on 9 November.