It’s unfortunate that the widespread perception nowadays is that making insertions in the national budget is illegal — and that legislators who engage in it are crooks.

Many believe that such public perception may have prompted Sen. Panfilo Lacson to resign as head of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee after some colleagues bristled when he said that “almost all” senators in the 19th Congress made insertions totaling at least ₱100 billion.

As a former senator, I can say that making a budget insertion is not unlawful; in fact, it is part of the mandate of a legislator. An insertion is, in itself, an amendment to a proposed law, the General Appropriations Act, and a legislator is duty bound to propose needed amendments.

I agree with what former Senate President Franklin Drilon said on ANC’s “Headstart” yesterday: “The congressman or senator whose intention it was to really steal money, they should be punished. But I will defend the right of every senator or congressman to amend through what is now termed as insertions.”

The former chair of the Senate finance committee also explained how the raging controversy in the 2025 national budget came about. “It is in the execution of these amendments, and the failure of those who are supposed to exact accountability, that has caused all these mess. I have never seen corruption of this magnitude in the budget.”

So how should the budget process go about to ensure proper handling of taxpayers’ money? At last Wednesday’s Kapihan sa Manila Prince Hotel, former Finance Secretary and current Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monetary Board member Ben Diokno offered a roadmap for efficiency and transparency throughout the entire budget process, from formulation to execution.

His “Ten Rules for Fiscal Consolidation, Responsibility, and Accountability” are as follows:

1. Respect the DBCC budget formulation— Respect the budget ceiling and policy decisions set by the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC), which includes macroeconomic targets and fiscal programs.

2. Rally behind the President's budget— Support the President's National Expenditure Program (NEP), which is the proposed budget submitted to Congress, as it reflects the administration's priorities.

3. Honor Foreign Assisted Projects (FAPs)—Retain the funding for Foreign Assisted Projects (FAPs) in the budget as they are usually long-term commitments with specific national and international importance.

4. Accept the Congress's rights to amend—Acknowledge that the Congress has the constitutional right to introduce amendments to the President's budget proposal (NEP).

5. Make public the House's General Appropriations Bill (GAB)—The House of Representatives' version of the budget (GAB) should be immediately and fully made public to allow public scrutiny.

6. Let the Senate scrutinize GAB. The Senate may concur or propose to the House-approved GAB— Allow the Senate to perform its constitutional duty to review and scrutinize the House-approved GAB, including the power to propose amendments.

7. Publish the Senate's version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB)—The Senate's version of the GAB (and its proposed amendments) must also be made public promptly.

8. Open the Bicameral process to the public—The Bicameral Conference Committee meetings, where the differences between the House and Senate versions are reconciled, should be open to the public.

9. The President should use his line-item veto power— The President should be ready to veto specific objectionable items in the enrolled General Appropriations Act (GAA) that violate fiscal responsibility or constitutional limits (the line-item veto).

10. Let Congress override the President's veto, if it dares—Recognize and respect the Congress's power to override the President's veto (usually requiring a two-thirds vote of all its members), serving as the final legislative check.

“If susundin lang natin ang (If we just follow the) 10 rules that may help to get back towards fiscal consolidation, responsibility and accountability and good behavior—magiging okay na ang Pilipinas (the Philippines will be okay),” assured Diokno, known for his long and distinguished career in public finance.

“The budget is the clearest statement of government priorities. Protecting it from abuse is protecting the people’s trust,” he said. Curbing leakages and irregularities, he said, will need a three-pronged strategy: stricter monitoring, independent auditing, and full digitalization of government processes.

Diokno said technology can ensure that funds reach intended beneficiaries and leave behind a transparent digital trail. He also called on Filipinos to take a more active role in guarding the budget.

Accountability, he said, cannot rest on the government alone. “We need active participation from civil society, the private sector, and the media. Oversight works best when people remain vigilant,” he explained.

He urged policymakers to adopt international best practices in fiscal transparency, stressing the need for reforms in the system. “We must institutionalize reforms so that accountability does not depend on personalities but becomes part of the system itself,” he said.

He is certainly right when he said that the national budget is the lifeblood of our country’s development, and ensuring its integrity is not just an economic matter, but a moral imperative.

Indeed, the Philippines can no longer afford to treat insertions as loopholes for corruption. They must instead become opportunities to legislate responsibly, with transparency as the guiding rule. ([email protected])