Some P142.7 billion worth of infrastructure projects were “inserted” in the 2025 national budget, allegedly at the request of then Senate President Francis Escudero and his allies, the online news site Politiko reported yesterday.
Based on documents gathered by Politiko, the projects included flood control, road repair, and streetlights, among others.
The online news site said the adjustments were allegedly made during the bicameral conference committee deliberations between the Senate and House of Representatives.
Among the provinces that reportedly received the largest allocations were Bulacan, Sorsogon, Mindoro, Batangas, Davao, Occidental Mindoro, Quezon, Cavite, Valenzuela City, and Cebu.
Bulacan, home province of Senator Joel Villanueva, topped the list, followed by Escudero’s own province of Sorsogon with over P9.1 billion in projects, Politiko said.
In a message to Politiko, Villanueva said: “Hope it’s true but our Bulacan district engineers say it’s not.”
“Am sure DBM (Department of Budget and Management) and DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) would be the right agencies to answer these questions. I’ll raise these this coming budget hearings,” Villanueva added.
Sought for comment, DBM spokesperson Goddess Libiran said: “The power of the purse is with Congress. After we submitted the NEP (National Expenditure Program), they took over the deliberation. So, I don’t think DBM should comment.”
Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III, for his part, said the alleged insertions were “excessive.”
“Grabe (excessive) is the word. Amendments by the Senate in the past never ran into billions (of pesos), especially if it involves the DPWH,” Sotto told Politiko in a Viber message.
“Scandalous, to say the least…More so when these amendments came from cuts from DepEd (Department of Education) and DOH (Department of Health),”
Sotto said he will seek a probe into the questionable budget items.
