(UPDATE) SEN. Panfilo Lacson has proposed a bold reform to the national budgeting process in response to allegations of corruption in congressional insertions and realignments.
Lacson wants the Senate to adopt the National Expenditure Program (NEP) as submitted by the Executive Department — without changes — for fiscal year 2026.
In a radio interview on Thursday night, Lacson floated the idea as a one-year “experiment” aimed at breaking the cycle of post-submission amendments that opens the door to alleged pork barrel practices and corruption.
“For a change, why not have the Senate adopt the NEP so that if there are problems in implementing projects in 2026, it will be on the executive department,” Lacson said in Filipino.
“At least if it’s the NEP, I’m sure the items in it were studied carefully by the implementing agencies concerned,” he said.
The NEP is the Executive branch’s original proposed national budget, prepared annually by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
It contains itemized allocations and proposed programs for all departments, agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).
It serves as the basis for the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) filed in the House of Representatives.
Traditionally, the House and the Senate deliberate on the spending measure, with amendments, insertions and realignments being introduced before the bill is passed.
Such changes often lead to last-minute budget items — commonly referred to as “pork barrel” insertions — during the bicameral conference committee process.
Lacson’s proposal comes on the heels of controversial fund insertions and reallocations during the 2025 budget cycle, which critics say led to the “mangling” of the Executive’s original spending plan.
In previous years, Lacson has exposed suspicious budget items, including alleged “parked” funds, misallocated infrastructure projects, and allocations directed toward favored contractors or districts.
In 2021, he flagged over P160-billion worth of questionable projects inserted during the budget bicameral process — some of which lacked clear implementation plans or local government endorsement.
Similar issues plagued the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the early 2010s, eventually declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2013 after the “pork barrel scam” involving businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles exposed the diversion of billions in public funds to fake NGOs through legislative insertions.
Despite the PDAF’s abolition, lawmakers continued to face scrutiny for alleged post-submission budget maneuvering, often involving vague infrastructure projects or disproportionately large allocations to selected districts.
Lacson said he may formally propose adopting the NEP in full during the budget briefing by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) later this month.
He also suggested that both the Senate and House jointly adopt the NEP without any congressional realignments, shifting the focus instead to strict implementation monitoring.
“The Senate and House can both adopt the NEP, then guard the implementation of the projects,” Lacson said.
He emphasized that the experiment would last for only one year, after which lawmakers could evaluate whether it improved transparency and delivery of government services.
If not, Congress could return to traditional practices involving realignments and amendments.
“This will be a one-year experiment. If it fails, we go back to the realignment,” he said.
Lacson’s proposal is expected to spark debate among lawmakers, many of whom defend the role of Congress in refining the budget to reflect local needs or correct perceived deficiencies in the Executive’s proposal.
However, critics argue that the amendment process is often abused to benefit specific legislators, districts, or contractors — sometimes with little accountability.
If adopted, the NEP experiment would be a significant departure from longstanding budget practices, potentially redefining the boundaries between legislative oversight and executive planning in the Philippines’ fiscal policy.
The move is also expected to align with calls for greater transparency and accountability amid ongoing Senate investigations into questionable infrastructure projects — particularly flood control programs — which have been flagged for anomalous allocations and implementation practices.
Lacson, a longtime advocate of budget reform, considers the proposal a necessary step in restoring public trust in the national budgeting process.
