Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Tuesday, September 30 said the revelations on the huge budget insertions by members of the Senate and House of Representatives in the 2025 national budget is a chance for both houses of Congress to ensure that next year’s budget is free from pork barrel.

Lacson pointed this out as he defended the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s ongoing investigation into the anomalies in the government’s flood control projects and his recent disclosure was not meant to put anyone on the spot but to give lawmakers a chance to heed the public’s outrage against corruption and ensure a “pork-free” 2026 budget and beyond.

The Blue Ribbon panel chairman also said he explained this to fellow senators during a caucus on Monday after some of their colleagues voiced concerns that the revelation over the insertions could affect the institution.

“I can actually feel and understand completely the sentiments expressed by my colleagues, at least the members of the majority bloc during our majority caucus yesterday, so I explained to them that the mention of 'almost all senators' was not intended to put them or the whole Senate on the spot, nor did I have the intention of calling them out particularly,” Lacson said.

“The overarching reason for my disclosure or revelation was to point out that we must accept the fact that we are all in crisis owing to the recent anomalies involving the substandard and even ghost flood control projects unearthed in the course of the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings and other similar investigations,” he stressed.

Lacson said this should also be an opportunity for the Senate to lead the way and set the example for a truly transparent budget.

He also stressed that the clear and overarching message is to avoid or at least minimize the mangling of the national budget bill especially if it means taking away funds from vetted projects—particularly foreign-assisted ones—in favor of “pet projects.”

“Hindi ito patungkol sa tao-tao, maging senador or congressmen. Ito patungkol sa aming lahat, reminder na binabantayan tayo, mag-ingat tayo (This is not about individual senators or congressmen. This is about all of us - a reminder that we must be transparent in doing our jobs because the people are watching us),” he added.

Lacson also pointed out that questionable insertions could threaten the country’s economy as diverted funds could have gone to infrastructure programs that were planned and vetted at the barangay, city and regional levels.

Moreover, if local counterpart funds for foreign-assisted projects are cut in favor of such pet projects, it could endanger the project and embarrass the Philippines before its foreign partners, he said.

“As Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, I would like to reiterate my previous and oft-repeated statement that we will go where the evidence leads us. Nobody is being targeted. Neither will anyone be shielded or spared,” he said.

“No matter how unpopular, even painful for me to hear the names of my colleagues being implicated by  resource persons, I will not be deterred,” added the lawmaker.