Budget realignments questioned

SENATOR Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Wednesday said that he is looking to probe potentially problematic budget allocations for farm-to-market roads, government aid, and “Super Health Centers” in the 2026 budget.

In a statement, the senator said that P255.5 billion meant for the Public Works department’s flood control projects were realigned into the “dubious” programs.

“Much of the realignments went to farm-to-market roads. The question is, is the list of such roads from the Department of Agriculture or from congressmen?” Mr. Lacson asked.

He added that some of the realignments went to unprogrammed funding for government aid or ayuda programs.

“Some ayuda programs are to be funded by unprogrammed appropriations,” the senator said. “We intend to uproot these and return them to the regular budget.”

Under the proposed 2026 national budget, unprogrammed appropriations amount to P250 billion, largely earmarked for pre-planned initiatives instead of emergency contingencies.

He added that other realignments under the proposed 2026 budget included allocations for the Health Facility Enhancement Program (HFEP) that funds the Super Health Centers.

Mr. Lacson said that he will also move to consolidate funding for government aid and social services under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) once budget deliberations reached the Senate plenary.

The legislator is also pushing for the realignments of P2 billion under the “Tulong Dunong” scholarship program to fund Free Tertiary Education.

This year’s budget deliberations have been under heightened public scrutiny after the 2025 budget was found to have numerous unprogrammed funding and line-item insertions from lawmakers. — Adrian H. Halili