After saying that ‘almost all’ 24 senators of the 19th Congress had insertions in the 2025 national budget amounting to over P100 billion, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson clarified yesterday that members of the House of Representatives had even bigger entries.
As senators began to push back against criticisms on insertions, Lacson clarified that he was not singling out the Senate when he flagged budget changes for public works – the biggest of which was P10 billion for one senator alone.
He noted that insertions are not necessarily unlawful, but expressed suspicion over the P5 billion to P9 billion supposedly received by each lawmaker.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, said House insertions ‘were much bigger and the list of names is much longer’ and ran several pages in alphabetical order, compared to the 24 names in the Senate.
‘It’s like a roll call,’ Lacson told radio dzBB, referring to the list of over 300 lawmakers read by the House Secretary General to check for quorum during sessions.
He confirmed that the amendments involved infrastructure projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
When asked if the insertions automatically meant lawmakers had profited or conspired to benefit from the projects, he deferred judgment.
‘Let’s just listen to the testimony of (Henry) Alcantara, (Roberto) Bernardo and Brice (Hernandez). Let that be the basis, not me,’ Lacson said, referring to former DPWH officials who linked congressmen to flood control corruption.
During Blue Ribbon hearings, congressmen who were implicated included former speaker Martin Romualdez and former appropriations chair Rep. Zaldy Co.
Contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya had also linked the pair and over a dozen more congressmen, former and current, as having involvement in kickbacks from flood control projects.
‘Introducing insertions is not illegal. It is our mandate as lawmakers to review the National Expenditure Program and introduce amendments. The problem is that many lawmakers abused this mandate,’ Lacson said.
‘I hope that in 2026, we will practice self-restraint. The people are angry so we must reform the way we pass the budget,’ he added.
As Lacson’s revelations on budget insertions continue to stir anger among taxpayers, senators pushed back against criticism, stressing that amendments are part of the legislative process and not inherently illegal or improper.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said amendments introduced during budget deliberations – whether institutional or individual – are ‘part of the regular budget process.’
He noted that it was ‘unfortunate’ that reports on ghost projects and failed flood control works had cast all amendments in a negative light.
‘Some of these amendments are for additional classrooms, farm-to-market roads and bridges that will benefit our people, especially those in the far-flung provinces. Some of which were never funded and were tagged ‘for later release’,’ Sotto said.
He added that the Senate will introduce changes in the 2026 budget to ensure ‘greater transparency, people’s participation and accountability.’
Sen. JV Ejercito echoed Sotto’s position, saying amendments are among the Senate’s duties after budget hearings.
‘Not all amendments are bad, especially those which help agencies and departments. Amendments are not tainted as long as there is no post enactment intervention,’ he added.
Marcos Jr.: 2026 budget to be graft-free
Amid Lacson’s statements on budget insertions, Malacañang vowed that President Marcos would not allow the 2026 budget to be tainted with corruption.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said issues like the one raised by Lacson prompted the investigation into the alleged anomalies surrounding flood control projects.
‘Perhaps what really happened in the 2025 budget is now being revealed,’ Castro said at a press briefing yesterday.
She said Marcos wants to ensure that the budget would go to programs that would benefit the public, noting that the President had already vowed to veto the 2026 budget if it is filled with anomalies.
‘So we can be sure, with all these things happening, the people can be assured that the 2026 budget would be above board and the President will not allow anomalous projects,’ she added.
Marcos has ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the country’s flood control projects and has created an independent body that would run after officials and contractors who benefited from kickbacks.
He has also canceled the flood control projects for 2026 and reallocated their P255.5-billion funding to various social welfare, education, agriculture, agrarian reform and livelihood programs.
The Marcos administration is proposing a P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, higher than this year’s P6.326-trillion outlay.
Students stage protests vs graft
At the same time, thousands of students from the Far Eastern University (FEU) and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) walked out of their classrooms and held a rally to denounce massive corruption in government.
At noon yesterday, around 1,000 FEU students reportedly gathered at the Nicanor Reyes Street to protest.
At 3 p.m., despite the rains, students from different colleges of UST also conducted a walk-out rally.
They went around their campus and expressed their outrage over the trillions of pesos worth of government funds lost in the DPWH flood control anomaly.
The students were heard chanting ‘Zaldy, Zaldy Magnanakaw, Magnanakaw si Zaldy’ (Zaldy the thief), ‘Mga Kurakot, Ikulong na Yan’ (Jail all thieves), while some students called for President Marcos nd the Dutertes to go to jail.