MANILA, Philippines — Public indignation coupled with sustained vigilance could help thwart attempts by unscrupulous lawmakers to insert questionable allocations into the proposed 2027 national budget, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Wednesday.
Lacson expressed hope that persons behind the attempts to mangle the budget anew would be proven wrong by the efforts of lawmakers and budget advocacy groups pushing for accountability.
“When anger meets vigilance, greed and callousness face a fierce fight. The flood control scandal has barely settled, yet the ‘kapalmuks’ of the world are testing the limits of the people’s patience yet again. I would like to think they are wrong this time... Thanks to the People’s Budget Coalition and all like-minded individuals standing together for accountability,” he said in a social media post.
“Anger alone or vigilance alone will not be enough. But combine them and the ‘kapalmuks’ will have something to reckon with,” he added in an interview on DZMM radio.
Lacson welcomed moves by some members of the House of Representatives to engage with budget advocacy groups, saying growing public support for their demands for accountability could help strengthen efforts to ensure transparency in the budget process.
He also renewed his call for greater transparency in budget deliberations, including keeping livestreams running even during breaks, particularly throughout the proceedings of the bicameral conference committee, where differences between the Senate and House versions of the budget are reconciled.
Meanwhile, Lacson said he and his staff continued to scrutinize the proposed spending measure, checking for questionable insertions and determining whether listed projects were viable and had complied with documentary and other requirements.
“We in the majority bloc have agreed that there will be no sacred cows. As former Justice Adolfo Azcuna said, all means all. There will be no sacred cows as far as those who made insertions are concerned. If there are projects that cannot be implemented or lack the needed requirements, they will be removed,” he said.
Lacson stressed that his efforts to scrutinize the budget were driven by his commitment to honest public service rather than political ambitions.
“I am left with no further political ambitions. Whatever I do now is pure advocacy in pursuit of honest public service which I love doing no matter the cost,” he said.
