Senator Erwin Tulfo on Thursday, Jan. 8, expressed support for the creation of a strong joint congressional oversight mechanism to closely monitor the implementation of programs and projects funded under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), stressing the need to ensure that public funds are properly spent.

Tulfo made the remarks after President Marcos signed the 2026 national budget into law, amid concerns raised by lawmakers about how Congress would ensure that government agencies implement budgeted projects as intended.

“Just to repeat what I said, I agree with the establishment of oversight functions or committees from both houses of Congress to monitor the spending of the 2026 budget,” Tulfo said.

He pointed to what he described as the mishandling of funds in the previous year as reason for stricter oversight moving forward.

“We are coming from 2025 where the budget was really squandered,” he said, adding that Congress must make sure that such issues do not happen again and that public funds “really go to the right purposes this year.”

Asked how the proposed oversight committee should monitor government spending—whether through regular reports from agencies or by physically inspecting projects—Tulfo said he would prefer a more hands-on approach.

“I don’t know yet what the plan is of Senator Win [Gatchalian], the House Appropriations Committee, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, or Speaker Bojie Dy on how this oversight will be implemented,” he said.

“But if you ask me, I would not rely solely on reports from secretaries or directors,” he added.

Tulfo said there should be people on the ground who would randomly check whether projects are actually being implemented as reported.

“For example, is a project really being carried out?” he said.

“We’ve seen how regional directors cover for district engineers, and how even secretaries can be involved,” he added.

He suggested that Congress deploy personnel to randomly selected project sites to verify whether funds are being spent as intended. When asked whether he would be part of the proposed Joint Congressional Oversight Committee, Tulfo said he would welcome the opportunity if invited.

He noted that Gatchalian had proposed that members serve as vice chairpersons.

“I will really push for us to see the projects with our own eyes,” Tulfo said.

He acknowledged that Congress cannot inspect every project but said random checks of both large and small projects—such as farm-to-market roads and irrigation systems—would help ensure accountability.

Meanwhile, Tulfo also weighed in on questions surrounding the Infrastructure Coordination Initiative (ICI), following remarks by Senator Imee Marcos that the body may be disbanded due to the resignation of several officials, leaving only three remaining members.

According to Tulfo, his understanding is that the ICI was created primarily to investigate anomalies related to flood control projects.

“That was really formed to investigate anomalies in flood control because the executive branch was rushing these projects before,” he said.

He noted that findings from Senate investigations, including those from the Blue Ribbon Committee, were being turned over to the ICI and the Office of the Ombudsman as the Senate winds down its own inquiries.

“If there are still things that need to be investigated, why not?” Tulfo said.

“Continue. That’s your mission—to investigate and unearth anomalies in flood control,” he added.

He added that billions of pesos in funds remain unaccounted for and that not all those involved have been charged.

On the other hand, as vice chairperson of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Tulfo also addressed claims made by Senator Imee Marcos that minority senators were allegedly prevented from pursuing lines of inquiry when investigations involved former Speaker Martin Romualdez or higher-ranking officials.

Tulfo denied such claims, saying there had been no meetings or caucuses between majority and minority members.

“We don’t even have caucuses, so how could they be instructed?” he said.

He also dismissed suggestions that Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson would interfere with the proceedings. Tulfo said he had not heard of any policy restricting inquiries involving Romualdez and added that, as a committee member, he had not received any calls or instructions to limit questioning.