Ping reveals how colleagues hid insertions in 2025 budget
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson yesterday revealed that almost all senators inserted more than ₱100 billion worth of projects into the proposed 2025 national budget.
Lacson, who also chairs the Blue Ribbon panel, said the insertions were categorized as “For Later Release” or “FLR” items, which means they are individual allocations tagged for implementation at a later date.
“It is enormous. I’ve never seen anything like this because back in the day, before the PDAF was declared unconstitutional, it was only in the hundreds of millions. But now I’ve seen the total, it’s at least ₱100 billion,” he said.
The veteran lawmaker said the ₱100 billion figure reflects only the Senate, noting he has not yet reviewed the insertions made by members of the House of Representatives.
He revealed plans to question agency heads during budget deliberations about how such large allocations were allowed to pass through the process.
“I want to know how many of the inserted items were released and how they were implemented,” Lacson said.
While insertions or amendments are not automatically illegal, the senator said the amounts ranging from ₱5 billion to ₱9 billion per project raise serious questions.
He urged lawmakers to exercise restraint in pushing for locally funded projects, not only within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) but also in agencies such as the Department of Education and the Department of Transportation.
Lacson added that the Senate cannot deny the damage caused by allegations of kickbacks involving current and former members.
He said reforms should begin with the 2026 budget, which is now under deliberation.
Meanwhile, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon fired back at Cibac party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva, after the latter threatened to bring down the wrath of god on him for investigating his son.
“I mean, Senator Joel [Villanueva] might really be sent to prison. Brother Eddie, even if you curse me,” the House Public Accounts Committee chairman said in Filipino.
Ridon pointed out that dismissed DPWH engineers Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, both of whom confessed to being key players in a “trillion-peso” corruption scheme, implicated the younger Villanueva as a beneficiary of their illicit money-making operations.
In an earlier sermon, Villanueva unleashed a verbal attack on Ridon for saying the televangelist’s son has to answer allegations that he accepted kickbacks from anomalous infrastructure projects.
“Our lawyers might not be able to get to you [on time]… Remember this, boy… You think you can escape the wrath of God? Be thankful because Bro. Eddie is born again,” said the elder Villanueva, who founded the Jesus is Lord Church (JIL) Worldwide ministries.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Lacson bares ₱100b Senate insertions in 2025 budget”
