MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson said an official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) called up one lawmaker to make early insertions in the proposed national budget for 2026.
The senator on Sunday said a caller claiming to be "Undersecretary Cabral" from DPWH called up a staff member of Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III shortly after the May 2025 senatorial elections.
"One 'Undersecretary Cabral' called Sotto's staff and told them to insert what they wanted to insert [in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2026]," Lacson said in a radio interview., This news data comes from:http://www.aichuwei.com
DPWH exec asked lawmaker to make budget insertions — Lacson
"If Sen. Sotto was one of those called by that executive, who else could have been contacted similarly and submitted their proposed insertions?" he said in Filipino.
"Senator Sotto told me he did not submit anything because we are advocating transparency and good governance. The question now is, how many members of the House and Senate made insertions?" Lacson added.
- Cyclone's trough, habagat will bring cloudy skies, rain showers over PH
- Trump says he wants to meet North Korea's Kim again
- 4 of 15 contractors on Marcos list have clean records – DPWH
- A tale of two cities: San Mateo rejects Manila's trash; Rizal opens landfill to Malabon
- Marcos names acting Ombudsman
- Budget shortfall narrows in July
- DPWH Secretary Dizon orders perpetual ban of Wawao Builders, Syms Construction for ghost projects
- ICC clears applications of 15 drug war victims to join proceedings vs Duterte
- House party leaders want to return proposed 2026 budget to Executive
- DPWH told to build evacuation centers
