Senator Chiz Escudero has urged the government to impose tighter safeguards on public spending by requiring feasibility studies and digital tracking systems for all infrastructure projects before they are funded under the national budget.
Under his proposed measure, Senate Bill No. 1461 or the Infrastructure Appropriations Integrity Act, Escudero said that no project should receive funding unless backed by a comprehensive technical and financial feasibility study that includes detailed unit price analyses, standard material costs, and public access to project data.
“All proposed projects must be vetted; otherwise, they should not receive a single centavo in public funds,” he said.
The senator explained that each project must have station numbers, geotagging, and geodetic coordinates so that the public can independently verify if the construction is actually underway or if it has stalled despite the continued release of funds.
Escudero also called for an explicit ban on budget splitting, or the practice of dividing a single project into multiple phases to bypass procurement and budget regulations.
“Splitting of government contracts has long been prohibited under Republic Act 9184. It is meant to prevent schemes that enable corruption,” he emphasized.
To ensure transparency, Escudero urged Senate Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian to adopt the key provisions of his bill into the 2026 national budget, either as general or special provisions applicable to all agencies handling infrastructure projects.
He said the reforms are aimed at strengthening accountability in the use of public funds and preventing the recurrence of ghost projects and irregularities that have recently plagued the government’s infrastructure programs.