PASAY CITY — In a bid to demonstrate fiscal restraint and urge the House of Representatives to follow suit, the Senate is planning to slash roughly ₱2 billion from its allocation under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Accounts, announced that the upper chamber intends to trim its proposed ₱7.7-billion share from the ₱7.2-trillion national budget blueprint for 2027.
He explained that the decision follows a recent Supreme Court ruling declaring specific provisions in past budgets unconstitutional, which he described as a vital opportunity for comprehensive spending reforms.
“Magbabawas kami ng (mga) ₱2-billion just to set the trend for the House to follow. Ang House, nagdagdag ng ₱5-billion. (But) the Senate is reducing our proposed budget from the NEP by ₱2-billion,” Lacson stated on Friday, October 23.
Lacson assured that the proposed reduction will not hamper daily legislative operations, noting that the chamber can utilize remaining balances from previous fiscal years. He also welcomed the High Court’s decision, calling it a timely intervention.
“Maganda ang Supreme Court ruling because it has come at a time na kailangan ang reform sa budget,” he added.
Moving forward with budget scrutiny, Lacson noted that the Senate will gather additional recommendations on Monday, October 26, during a scheduled consultation with civil society organizations (CSOs).
According to the senator, CSOs have already identified questionable allocations in the 2027 proposal, including a heavily criticized farm-to-market road project intended for Quezon province whose geographic coordinates bizarrely led to offshore waters near Brunei.
“Ito ang mga disinterested, meaning walang self-interest, kundi purely pro-advocacy. Lumabas sa nakaraang hearing. Akala ko malayo na Leyte ang grid coordinates. Yun pala meron sa Brunei may mas malala. Na-break ang record ng Taguig,” he pointed out, emphasizing the value of independent civic oversight.
Addressing calls from the Makabayan bloc to recall the House-approved version of the budget bill, Lacson rejected the idea, warning that doing so would trigger a reenacted budget that offers far less transparency and itemized control.
“Ang resulta niyan mas masama, reenacted budget. Lahat ng 2026 nakafloat, walang itemized provision. The whole, pag reenacted, lump sum lahat yan, hindi yan ang solution,” the senator stressed, noting that the proper remedy is for senators to rigorously strip away excess fat from the budget transmitted by the House.
Furthermore, Lacson expressed strong views regarding accountability for the unconstitutional provisions found in the 2024 and 2025 appropriations, comparing them unfavorably to past budget controversies.
“Noon pa wala pa kami sa Senate I was already calling out ang lumobong unprogrammed appropriations. Ginalaw ng ginalaw, this was 2024-2025, kaya sabi ko ito ang worst budgets ever even counting the 2013 Disbursement Acceleration Program na declared unconstitutional,” he recalled.
While pushing for transparency and adherence to the Supreme Court’s mandate, Lacson clarified that the doctrine of operative fact should apply to funds disbursed prior to the ruling.
“(Kung) before the Supreme Court ruling nagamit na, disbursed na, hindi mo pwedeng habulin yan,” he concluded.