‘Leadership fund’ no longer in 2026 budget — Senator Lacson

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday the 2025 national budget was apparently the last to carry the controversial mechanism called the “leadership fund,” also known as “allocables,” which allowed lawmakers to identify projects even while the executive branch was still preparing the proposed spending plan.

“Sa 2026 budget, wala na. So sa 2025, yun ang last budget year. I believe sa 2026, wala na yung leadership fund (It is no longer in the 2026 budget. So, 2025 was the last budget year. I believe the leadership fund is no longer in the 2026 budget),” Lacson said in a chance interview.

Despite its apparent removal, Lacson said the practice should be permanently abandoned, describing it as a worse version of the outlawed pork barrel system because legislators could influence project allocations even before the National Expenditure Program (NEP) reached Congress.

READ: Bonoan: ‘All senators’ got share of ‘leadership fund’

He said lawmakers should participate in budget-making during the authorization phase, when Congress deliberates on and amends the NEP, rather than intervene in the executive-led preparation phase.

District representatives, he added, already have an avenue to raise local priorities through development councils, where projects are identified before being elevated to regional and national planning bodies.

Lacson said bypassing that process through pre-arranged allocations could diminish the value of local and regional development plans.

“Hindi dapat naka-dip ng fingers yung mga congressmen, mga senators sa (Congressmen and senators should not dip their fingers in) budget preparation because that is within the domain of the executive down to the local levels, the local government units,” he said.

The leadership fund again came under scrutiny following former Department of Public Wrks and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan’s testimony that senators had allocations of at least PHP500 million each for priority projects under the mechanism in 2024.

Lacson recalled that Bonoan had earlier disclosed during a Senate Blue Ribbon inquiry that projects requested by lawmakers were consolidated by the DPWH for possible inclusion in the NEP after review by its planning service.

He maintained that congressional amendments are legitimate when used to address funding deficiencies in government programs, distinguishing these from allocations that could serve individual or private interests.

“Walang masama kung mag-amend because that’s our mandate (There is nothing wrong with making amendments because that is our mandate),” Lacson said.

He cautioned that budget insertions do not automatically amount to misuse of public funds but could create opportunities for abuse and corruption when lawmakers are given large individual allocations.

With deliberations on the next national spending plan approaching, Lacson said he has instructed his staff to closely review the proposed budgets of the DPWH, Department of Agriculture and Department of Transportation, where he said project allocations warrant particular scrutiny. (PNA)

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