Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III clarified that budget insertions in the annual national budget are not illegal.
This comes after Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson revealed that nearly all senators of the 19th Congress had individual budget insertions amounting to roughly ₱100 billion.
In an interview, Sotto stressed that insertions are part of the normal legislative process in crafting the national budget and should not be automatically viewed with suspicion.
“Amendments or insertions, whether individual or institutional, done during the deliberations in the Senate, are part of the regular budget process,” Sotto said.
The veteran lawmaker admitted it was unfortunate that budget insertions have become tainted with doubt, but added he understood the skepticism since they were used as tools for corruption in anomalous projects, particularly ghost flood control and infrastructure projects.
“It is unfortunate that the issue on ghost projects and failed flood control projects affect and generalized all amendments as illegal or improper,” he noted.
Sotto emphasized that the insertions during the 19th Congress were intended for classrooms, farm-to-market roads, and bridges, which he said would benefit the Filipino people.
He further assured that both he and Lacson will push for stricter oversight in the drafting of the 2026 national budget.
Sotto and Lacson have long been known for their meticulous scrutiny of how the government allocates funding for the succeeding year.