5 days ago
5
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Neil Jayson Servallos - The Philippine Star
December 15, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson is refusing to sign the ratification of the 2026 budget if the bicameral conference committee pushes through with a large funding increase for controversial aid programs and multibillion-peso allocations for farm-to-market roads.
Speaking to radio dzBB yesterday, Lacson criticized the approval of the P51.6 billion allocation for the Department of Health (DOH)’s controversial Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP), which has been criticized as the “new face of pork barrel.”
“Sorry, unless rectified in its final version, I cannot sign to ratify a bicam report with P51 billion for MAIFIP, with nothing but guarantee letters from politicians and is not compliant with the Universal Health Care Act,” Lacson said.
The Senate had earlier sought to realign much of MAIFIP’s funding toward Universal Health Care, citing long-standing concerns that the program could be vulnerable to political patronage. The House version placed MAIFIP at P49.2 billion.
Lacson noted that MAIFIP should have been realigned to the Universal Health Care Act.
“Unless we adequately fund the UHC programs such that they cover all barangays and ensure zero billing, among others, we cannot fully implement the UHC law that we passed. All health-related funds must be subsumed under the Universal Health Care program of the Department of Health. Guarantee letters from politicians will only guarantee patronage politics but not the health care needs of Filipinos, especially the indigents,” he stressed.
He said safeguards could still be introduced through special provisions while bicam deliberations are ongoing, particularly to prevent assistance from being directed without proper assessment.
Farm-to-market road funds doubled
Another item that convinced Lacson not to sign the ratification is the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, which the bicam allocated P33 billion – double what President Marcos asked for at P16 billion.
“Further, I will not associate myself with the P33 billion spending for unplanned and unvetted farm-to-market roads,” he said.
The bicam late Saturday night saw an hour-long debate over the proposed funding for FMRs, with senators raising concerns that these would be the next target for infrastructure corruption and congressmen insisting on doubling the funding.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo said he had objections due to a lack of assurance regarding safety measures in its implementation.
“This is such a huge amount. While I know that our farmers need this, the problem is that the public might think that we may have removed the flood control projects, but we replaced it with farm-to-market roads,” Tulfo said during the debates.
“The Filipino people who are watching us right now cannot help but think that there might be problems with this. That the issues in flood control will only transfer to farm-to-market roads,” he added.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, pointing out the large increase, underscored that the budget for FMRs for 2026 might be bloated to as high as P43 billion because of the P11 billion unreleased funds from 2025.
“That’s a lot. And we have to remember that this amount is (originally) roughly around P16 billion. It’s almost times three... I am surprised that the masterplan has yet to be developed,” Cayetano said.
Nueva Ecija Rep. Mika Suansing, chair of the House appropriations committee, then clarified that the masterplan is already extensive but some far-flung areas are not yet included.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan backed doubling the FMR budget now that the DA has complied with technical requirements such as coordinates and specifications.
For her part, Sen. Loren Legarda noted that FMRs must be “according to the need of the area, based on population, land area and others, and not through politically divided districts.”
The bicameral conference committee is still reconciling final provisions of the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Bill, which will be returned to both chambers for ratification once finalized.
