Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday night proposed a one-year trial that would involve adopting the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) in full to address the problem of congressional insertions in the national budget.
“For a change, why not have the Senate adopt the NEP so that if there will be problems in implementing projects in 2026, it will be on the executive department,” Lacson said.
The veteran lawmaker argued that the NEP reflects projects already vetted and reviewed by the implementing agencies responsible for carrying them out.
Lacson indicated he may present the proposal during the Development Budget Coordination Committee briefing scheduled later this month.
“This will be a one-year experiment. If it fails, we go back to the realignment,” he said.
The senator noted that both chambers of Congress could adopt the NEP together while focusing their oversight powers on monitoring the execution of projects.
The approach, he said, would allow lawmakers to shift their efforts from budget crafting toward ensuring transparency and efficiency in implementation.
