SENATE Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Panfilo Lacson on Saturday revealed that he had rejected a P5-million “allocation fund” offer from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), which was relayed through his Senate staff earlier this week.
Lacson said he would seek an explanation for the offer when Tesda’s proposed 2027 budget is taken up for plenary deliberations in the Senate in November.
He posted screenshots on his X account of the purported offer, allegedly made on behalf of Tesda Secretary-General Jose Francisco Benitez through a person identified as “Stephanie.”
Benitez denied authorizing anyone to offer Lacson P5 million.
“As TESDA Secretary, I did not authorize anyone to offer any allocation or one amounting to P5 million to Sen. Ping Lacson,” Benitez said in a statement.
Benitez said he welcomed efforts to establish the facts and had ordered an immediate internal investigation.
“An immediate internal investigation has been ordered to determine the truth, identify those responsible for any unauthorized actions or misrepresentations, and apply appropriate administrative and, if warranted, criminal cases,” he said.
Lacson said he initially considered staging an entrapment operation against those behind the offer but decided against it after concluding that Stephanie might have merely been following instructions.
“Maybe they thought I’m ‘standard practice.’ They didn’t know me. Now they do,” he said.
The senator reiterated that the Senate would closely examine the House-approved 2027 national budget and address questionable allocations, including those involving foreign-assisted projects.
He also said senators were considering trimming about P2 billion from the Senate’s proposed 2027 budget under the National Expenditure Program to demonstrate fiscal discipline, particularly following the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring certain provisions of the 2024 and 2025 national budgets unconstitutional.
Lacson has long opposed pork barrel allocations and alleged bribe offers intended to influence lawmakers’ votes or their conduct of legislative inquiries.
In 2025, he exposed what he called “allocables,” which he described as a new form of pork barrel because funds could be allocated before specific projects were identified.
His initial review of the 2025 national budget showed that House leaders received P143.5 billion in such allocations, with party-list groups and non-legislators also reportedly receiving funds.
The allocables were subsequently removed from the Senate’s version of the 2026 General Appropriations Bill.
