The Senate majority bloc is standing firm in its commitment to eliminate questionable allocations and ensure complete transparency in the proposed 2027 national budget, according to Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.
Lacson stated that majority senators are fully supporting Senate Senior Majority Leader and Committee on Finance Chairperson JV Ejercito’s initiatives to remove unwarranted, whimsical, and corruption-prone items from the spending measure.
“The majority of senators are rallying behind Senate Finance Committee Chairman JV Ejercito’s efforts to cleanse the 2027 budget of unwarranted, whimsical, and corruption-prone items. — ALL MEANS ALL!” Lacson said in a post on social media Sunday, November 1.
The unified push comes as Ejercito obtained an agreement from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to drop infrastructure projects lacking complete supporting documentation from the House-approved budget bill ahead of plenary debates, provided the agency fails to submit the requirements by November 3.
Budget watchdogs previously raised concerns over missing documentation after a Senate review revealed that DPWH projects surged from 11,420 under the National Expenditure Program to 16,244 in the General Appropriations Bill transmitted by the House. This increase included 6,271 new projects introduced by lawmakers without prior executive vetting.
To bolster accountability, Ejercito announced plans to invite civil society organizations as observers during the bicameral conference committee deliberations, which will also be livestreamed to the public.
Lacson added that the majority has agreed to sustain transparency measures introduced by Senate President Win Gatchalian, a former Senate Finance panel chair.