Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday questioned the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for maintaining what he called a “leadership fund,” allegedly allowing lawmakers to influence infrastructure allocations even before the national budget reached Congress.
In a DZBB interview, Lacson recalled former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan admitting that the agency consolidated lawmakers’ project requests into the National Expenditure Program (NEP), effectively giving them early access to the budgeting process.
“Ang budget preparation ay trabaho ng executive branch, pero bakit nakikialam na agad ang ilang mambabatas bago pa ito maipadala sa Kongreso (Budget preparation is the job of the executive branch, so why are some lawmakers already intervening before it even reaches Congress)?” Lacson said.
He emphasized that budget preparation belongs solely to the executive branch and that legislators’ involvement at this stage violates the separation of powers and undermines transparency.
According to Lacson, the system allows certain lawmakers to insert projects beneficial to favored contractors, turning the process into a “kickback-driven” operation.
“From the testimonies of DPWH personnel, it appears public funds have become nothing more but a toy for corrupt officials,” he added.
Lacson cited cases where DPWH allegedly replaced approved multipurpose building projects worth PHP1.5 billion with only PHP600 million in flood control projects—favoring those with higher profit margins.
“The projects included in the NEP should stem from local development plans endorsed by regional development councils. Pero kapag nagkaroon ng insertions, nagiging contractor-driven na ito dahil mas tinitingnan kung sino ang makakapagbigay ng kickback kaysa sa tunay na pangangailangan ng mga komunidad,” he said.
The senator said the findings will contribute to the ongoing Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe into flood control and other infrastructure anomalies.
He warned that corruption within the DPWH would persist unless the budget process is fully protected from political interference.
Lacson also revealed that handwritten memos from civilians were sent directly to the DPWH secretary’s office, bypassing formal channels—further proof, he said, of “outsiders” influencing public infrastructure spending.