Senator Lacson: No lawmaker exempt from Senate scrutiny of 2027 budget

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has vowed that no lawmaker—including those close to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—will be exempted from scrutiny as the Senate reviews the proposed 2027 national budget.

Lacson stated that members of the Senate majority bloc stand united behind Senate Finance Committee Chairman JV Ejercito in examining questionable allocations in the House-approved General Appropriations Bill (GAB) and correcting potential irregularities.

"Ang attitude namin sa ngayon, gung-ho. Kung masagasaan, masagasaan. Kung magbigay ng exceptions to the rule, minsan ang exceptions ang nagiging general rule," Lacson said in an interview. (“Our attitude right now is gung-ho. If anyone gets hit, so be it. If we start granting exceptions, those exceptions could become the rule.”)

District Allocations Under Fire

Asked whether the review would cover the substantial net increase in public works allocations for the congressional district of Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos—the President’s son—Lacson answered in the affirmative.

"Yes, absolutely," he said.

He stressed that allowing exceptions for specific lawmakers would undermine the Senate's oversight and invite a flood of similar requests.

"Kapag nagkaroon tayo ng exception to the rules, maraming hihingi ng exceptions. Tapos hindi na iyan mag-succeed, kasi diyan nagsisimula... Kapag may tinitingnan at hindi tinitingnan, diyan magsisimula ang pagba-bargain," he explained. (“If we make exceptions, many others will demand them, and our efforts will fail. When you start turning a blind eye to some while scrutinizing others, that’s where political bargaining begins.”)

Preparing Plenary Amendments

The Senate is scheduled to resume plenary sessions on November 9 to begin formal debates on the proposed national budget.

Lacson confirmed he has already submitted his subcommittee reports on the agency budgets assigned to him. These are currently under review by the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office (LBRMO) to help senators prepare key amendments against House modifications.

"Para pagdating sa plenary, nakakamada na iyan at doon kami mag-introduce ng amendments. At pwede naming kaltasin ang lumobo sa HGAB," he said. (“By the time plenary sessions resume, everything will be set for us to introduce amendments and slash the bloated allocations added in the House version.”)

Lacson added that he is confident members of the Senate majority will refrain from inserting questionable allocations for personal or political projects.

"Sa Senate majority, hindi ko alam kung may mangahas maglagay ng pet projects, but I don’t think so. Kapag nagcha-chat kami, ramdam ko ang sentiment ng aking mga kasamahan," he said. (“In the Senate majority, I doubt anyone would dare sneak in pet projects. Based on our discussions, I can feel my colleagues' shared sentiment.”)

Push for CSO Monitoring and 'Public Shaming'

To further enforce accountability, Lacson proposed allowing civil society organizations (CSOs)—particularly budget transparency advocates—to observe bicameral conference committee proceedings firsthand and call out questionable insertions.

He urged budget watchdogs to prepare for grueling deliberations and go beyond standard monitoring by publicly naming legislators behind dubious line items.

"Hindi lang maging vigilant kundi mag-resort na sa shaming. Kasi minsan, talagang wala na ring kahihiyan ang iba. Pagkatapos ng flood control project anomalies at ghost projects, eto na naman tayo sa kanya-kanyang singitan," Lacson said. (“We shouldn't just be vigilant; we may need to resort to public shaming because some people simply have no shame. After all the flood control anomalies and ghost projects, here we are again with lawmakers making individual insertions.”)