Lacson dismisses alleged Senate ‘LGU pork’ in 2026 budget

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (Senate of the Philippines/facebook)

MANILA – Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday rejected claims that the Senate inserted a PHP17.9-billion pork barrel fund in the proposed 2026 national budget, saying the questioned amount was a realignment intended to increase the subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel.

Lacson said claims made by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio about supposed “Senate pork” were either the result of “trabahong tamad (lazy work)” or a deliberate effort to malign and destabilize the Senate.

“The ‘Senate pork’ referred to by Rep. Tinio are actually realignments to increase the subsistence allowance of the uniformed personnel from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine Coast Guard,” Lacson said.

“Rep. Tinio is either too lazy to do his research, or he is malevolently destabilizing the Senate to take the heat off the House of Representatives,” he added.

Reports earlier quoted Tinio as claiming that the Senate version of the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Bill contained an alleged PHP17.9-billion “LGU pork,” supposedly sourced from cuts to benefits of rank-and-file government employees and realigned to discretionary funds.

Addressing the allegation, Lacson clarified that the funds in question came from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and were redirected solely for additional subsistence allowance of uniformed services.

“Gusto kong i-clarify mali ang sinasabi niya. Ang line na kinuha sa MPBF o Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund, realign talaga ‘yan pero sa additional subsistence allowance ng uniformed personnel (I want to clarify that what he said was wrong. The line item taken from the MPBF or Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund was indeed realigned, but it went to the additional subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel),” Lacson said in a DZBB radio interview.

He stressed that the move was an institutional amendment, noting that no individual senator stood to benefit from the realignment.