MANILA, Philippines - Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Partylist Rep. Leila De Lima of the House of Representatives has criticized Sen. Panfilo Lacson's suggestion to adopt the 2026 National Budget without changes by both the House and Senate, saying that his suggestion will not address the problem and could also set a "dangerous precedent."

De Lima bucks Lacson's budget 'experiment

"With due respect to Senator Ping (Lacson), I do not agree with his suggestion. Hindi natin pwedeng daanin sa experiment ang pera ng taumbayan. Congress has the power of the purse. Kapag hindi namin sinuri ang panukalang budget, tinalikuran na rin namin ang mandato ng Konstitusyon, yung tungkulin namin sa taumbayan (We cannot resolve the issue by experimenting with the money of the people. Congress has the power of the purse, if we don't scrutinize the budget proposal, we have abandoned our constitutional duty and our duty to our people)," De Lima said in a statement on Saturday.

She said that instead of approving the budget bill without any changes, she called on lawmakers to "thoroughly" scrutinize the budget and hold those involved in anomalous projects accountable., This news data comes from:http://www.771bg.com

"Let's safeguard our nation's coffers—from the budget proposal, to the deliberations and passage in Congress, including the deliberations at the BiCam level, up to the implementation by government agencies," de Lima said.

Lacson, in an interview on Friday, believes that his "experiment" could break the cycle of post-submission amendments that opens the door to alleged pork barrel practices and corruption.