MANILA — Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson questioned the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over its so-called “Leadership Fund,” which he said allowed lawmakers to meddle with the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Lacson raised the issue while grilling ex-DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects.

“The NEP is the President’s budget proposal to be transmitted to the House and eventually to the Senate. Why are there insertions in the NEP? That I cannot really understand for the life of me,” Lacson told Bonoan. He added, “You did not want to call it an insertion, so you called it a ‘leadership fund.’ Why are you accommodating lawmakers’ proposals?”

The issue came to light after ex-DPWH Bulacan First District Engineer Henry Alcantara revealed that former Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo downloaded hundreds of millions of pesos worth of projects, including allocations from the NEP, to his office between 2022 and 2025.

Alcantara said Bernardo sent P710 million in projects in 2023, including P450 million from the NEP; P3.3 billion in 2024, including P150 million from the NEP; and P2.55 billion in 2025, including P1.65 million from the NEP. These projects were allegedly intended for lawmakers including Senators Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, and former Rep. Mary Mitzi “Mitch” Cajayon-Uy.

Citing Alcantara’s statement that Bernardo sought advance payments of 5% to 15% for NEP projects, Lacson asked Bonoan how infrastructure projects could be downloaded to DPWH district offices before they were approved in the budget law.

“How did the legislator insert projects into the budget proposal that is not yet in the legislation phase? The NEP is the domain of the executive. How can the legislator meddle through insertions?” Lacson asked.

Bonoan replied that the DPWH consolidated lawmakers’ requested proposals in the NEP, including through the “leadership fund” in the Senate, and said the proposals were vetted with the DPWH planning service to ensure consistency with development programs. He also said the insertions were allowed to avoid complications during the bicameral conference committee.

Lacson pressed further, asking, “We are not yet in the bicam. Why did you not tell them, can you not wait for the budget deliberations? The NEP is the exclusive jurisdiction of the executive branch. Why were you allowing it?”

Later, Lacson reminded Bonoan of the four stages of the budgeting process: preparation, authorization, execution, and accountability. He stressed that lawmakers’ role belongs in the authorization phase, not in the preparation phase.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III added that “the proper procedure should be followed,” with proposed items in the budget coming from local and regional development councils.