MANILA — Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson rebutted allegations of a supposed P17.9-billion pork barrel fund for the Senate in the proposed 2026 national budget, saying the amounts in question were realignments intended to increase the subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel.

Lacson said claims of “Senate pork” made by Rep. Antonio Tinio either reflected “trabahong tamad (lazy work)” or a malicious attempt to 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 and Bureau of Fire Protection and also 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.

Lacson’s statement came after Tinio was quoted in reports on Tuesday alleging that the Senate version of the 2026 General Appropriations Bill contained a ₱17.9-billion “LGU pork” fund. Tinio also claimed that the Senate version imposed massive cuts on benefits for rank-and-file government employees, which were supposedly realigned to discretionary pork barrel funds for local government units.

In an interview over DZBB radio, Lacson denied the allegations, saying the funds were realigned from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund to support additional subsistence allowance for uniformed personnel.

“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 Tinio said was wrong. The amount was realigned from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund but went to the additional subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel),” Lacson said.

He also pointed out that the adjustment was an institutional amendment and that no individual proponent stood to benefit from it.

On Sunday, Lacson said he would refuse to sign the bicameral conference committee report on the 2026 budget unless provisions granting the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) a significant budget increase and allocating billions for potentially unvetted farm-to-market road projects are corrected. The House contingent has proposed raising the MAIFIP budget to P51 billion.

Lacson reiterated his and the Senate’s commitment to transparency in the budget process and renewed his call for media and public vigilance against possible manipulations in the budget bill, particularly as bicameral conference committee proceedings are now being livestreamed.

“All our (Senate) amendments are institutional and openly proposed on the Senate floor during the period of individual amendments,” he said.

“Everything was transcribed and is now part of the Senate records for all future generations of senators to see,” Lacson added.