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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Everything is on record': Ping Lacson tells corruption-wary Pinoys to check 2026 budget on Senate portal

'Everything is on record': Ping Lacson tells corruption-wary Pinoys to check 2026 budget on Senate portal

Published Dec 6, 2025 12:55 pm  |  Updated Dec 6, 2025 01:57 pm

At A Glance

  • Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Saturday, Dec. 6 encouraged the public to visit the Senate website so they may check for themselves the details of next year's outlay.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson (Facebook)
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson (Facebook)


The Senate version of the P6.793-trillion proposed national budget for 2026 is transparent and open for everyone to see.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Saturday, Dec. 6 encouraged the public to visit the Senate website so they may check for themselves the details of next year's outlay.
Lacson had this to say amid public outrage over alleged insertions in the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which facilitated infrastructure-related corruption.
Lacson said the Budget Transparency Portal reflects the reforms undertaken by the Senate in the budget process, including livestreaming the proceedings from committee hearings to the floor deliberations.
"Overall, the crafting of the budget in the Senate was very good. I would encourage you, the public, to check the Senate website. You will see the individual amendments of each senator. Everything is on record, unlike before when we cannot trace who made what amendment because the amendments were merely whispered to the committee chairman," he said in FIlipino in an interview on DZMM radio.
The Senate website (senate.gov.ph) contains the livestream videos of the deliberations, while the budget portal (budget-transparency-portal.senate.gov.ph) contains additional details including documents and transcripts of the hearings.
Lacson said the Senate, which is set to approve the budget bill on third reading this coming week, is prepared to maintain this transparency in the bicameral conference committee.
"Hopefully the Senate will stand its ground. The bicam is a give-and-take matter but this time, we will limit our discussions to what is contained in the Senate and House versions of the budget bill. And we will livestream the proceedings so there will be no chance for secret deals," he said.
He also reiterated that such transparency will encourage a sense of responsibility and accountability among those proposing amendments to the bill, since items that turn out to be substandard or ghost could be traced back to them.
"Even on matters of oversight, lawmakers who proposed amendments will guard the implementation because they will be held accountable if something goes wrong with the project," he added.
Lacson also said he hopes lawmakers learn from the flood control projects corruption scandal now that many of them face charges or jail over anomalous projects.
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