Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has raised alarm over what he described as unprecedented budget insertions by senators in the proposed 2025 national budget. According to Lacson, documents he reviewed show that senators inserted over ₱100 billion worth of projects into the General Appropriations Act (GAA), many of which were tagged as “For Later Release” (FLR) items.
“Sa Senate pa lang, at least P100 bilyon. Nagulat nga ako, sa mga individual insertions ito, ito naka-FLR (for later release) ngayon,” says Lacson.
Lacson said he had “never seen such amounts,” noting that before the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was declared unconstitutional in 2013, pork barrel allocations were only in the hundreds of millions. Now, individual insertions reportedly range from ₱5 billion to ₱9 billion per senator.
“Pagkalalaki. Never pa ako nakakita kasi noong araw di pa declared unconstitutional ang PDAF nandoon lang sa hundreds of millions. E ang ngayon nakita ko ang total, kabuuan at least P100 billion. Almost all senators sa 19th Congress andun ang pangalan” he adds.
While insertions aren’t automatically illegal, Lacson questioned their economic impact and transparency, especially when funds are diverted from vetted infrastructure programs.
He linked the insertions to systemic corruption, particularly in flood control and infrastructure projects, and warned that Congress itself may be the “original sin” in enabling such schemes.
Lacson urged both chambers of Congress to ban insertions for locally funded infrastructure projects, especially those under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), to prevent further abuse.
He also shared evidence with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which is investigating alleged anomalies in flood control projects. Lacson emphasized that reforms should begin with the 2026 budget deliberations. (ZIA LUNA)
