Lacson: Senate, House Resolutions Opening the Budget Process to the Public a Big Step vs Corruption
August 6, 2025
Lacson: Senate, House Resolutions Opening the Budget Process to the Public a Big Step vs Corruption
The resolutions by the Senate and House of Representatives to open the budget process to the public may not be foolproof but they are still a major step against "pork" in the national budget, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson said Wednesday.
Lacson welcomed the House's adoption of House Resolution 94, which seeks to institutionalize the participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) as non-voting observers in the budget deliberations of the House appropriations committee.
He added that with the signing by himself and fellow senators of a concurrent resolution to have a transparent budget process, it will be easier to identify the lawmakers who made insertions and realignments to the budget bill.
"What we signed yesterday is a concurrent resolution so both houses of Congress thankfully are united in making the budget process transparent all the way to the bicameral conference committee," he said.
"At the very least, the proponents of amendments a.k.a. insertions and realignments, especially for questionable or ghost projects, can be easily identified," he added.
While he said the resolutions may not be fully foolproof, they go a long way to cut down the corruption that has hounded the budget process in previous years, should they be properly implemented.
"It may not be a foolproof mechanism that will make the budget insertion- and commission-free but at least it promises to cut down the corruption that hounded previous budget processes, if implemented properly," he said.
During his interpellation of Sen. Loren Legarda's privilege speech Tuesday, Lacson also pointed out that with various initiatives for a transparent budget process, legislators will be more reluctant to insert questionable projects because they can be easily identified.
"I think we can more or less mitigate ang insertions because legislators will be more reluctant to insert projects that are not coordinated with the agencies that will implement those projects, simply because they will be identified if we have a transparent budget process or legislation process dealing with the budget for 2026," he said.
Lacson: Resolusyon ng Senado at Kamara na Nagbubukas ng Budget Process sa Publiko, Malaking Hakbang Laban sa Katiwalian sa Budget
Malaking hakbang laban sa katiwalian sa budget ang resolusyon ng Senado at Kamara para buksan sa publiko ang budget process, kahit na hindi sila "foolproof," ayon kay Sen. Panfilo "Ping" M. Lacson ngayong Miyerkules.
Welcome kay Lacson ang House Resolution 94, na pinahintulutan ang civil society organizations (CSOs) bilang non-voting observers sa budget deliberations ng House appropriations committee.
Dagdag ni Lacson, sa pagpirma niya at kapwa senador sa concurrent resolution para sa isang transparent budget process, mapapadali ang malaman kung sino ang mambabatas na nagsingit at nag-realign sa budget bill.
"What we signed yesterday is a concurrent resolution kaya nagkakaisa ang both houses (salamat naman) na maging transparent ang budget process all the way hanggang bicam," aniya.
"At the very least, matutunton na ang mga proponents ng amendments a.k.a. insertions and realignments kaya madali nang matukoy ang mga singitero pag palpak o guniguni ang projects," dagdag ni Lacson.
Bagama't hindi "foolproof" ang mga resolusyon na ito, naniniwala si Lacson na kung tama ang pagpapatupad dito, malaki ang magagawa nito para mabawasan ang katiwalian sa budget process sa nakaraang mga taon.
"It may not be a foolproof mechanism para maging insertion-free at mawala ang komisyunan sa mga proyekto pero at least maaaring malaking kabawasan sa katiwalian pag naipatupad talaga nang maayos," aniya.
Sa kanyang interpelasyon sa privilege speech ni Sen. Loren Legarda noong Martes, ipinunto ni Lacson na sa dami ng inisyatibo para gawing transparent ang budget process, mag-aatubili ang mambabatas sa pagsingit ng kwestyonableng proyekto dahil madali silang makilala.
"I think we can more or less mitigate ang insertions because legislators will be more reluctant to insert projects that are not coordinated with the agencies that will implement those projects, simply because they will be identified if we have a transparent budget process or legislation process dealing with the budget for 2026," aniya.
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