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Lacson flags P100-billion insertions in 2025 budget

PHILIPPINE STAR/JOHN RYAN BALDEMOR

SENATOR Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Sunday said senators of the previous Congress inserted at least P100 billion worth of items into this year’s P6.79-trillion national budget.

In a statement, Mr. Lacson said “almost all” senators had individual amendments to the budget, with allocations ranging from P5 billion to P9 billion each. These were tagged as “for later release.” He did not name specific lawmakers.

“For the Senate, the insertions amounted to at least P100 billion. I was surprised because these are individual insertions although they were held ‘for later release,’” he said.

He added that he has yet to review the list of insertions made by congressmen, which he described as “long.”

Mr. Lacson said the magnitude of congressional insertions has ballooned compared with the amounts under the now-defunct Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel, which the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional in 2013.

“It was humongous,” said Mr. Lacson, who heads the blue ribbon committee. “I have never seen such amounts. Before PDAF was declared unconstitutional, ‘pork’ amounted to hundreds of millions. Now it’s at least P100 billion total for 24 senators alone.”

The 2025 GAA has drawn criticism over congressional insertions. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. delayed signing the budget for more than a week in December to review its provisions before vetoing more than P194 billion worth of items deemed inconsistent with his administration’s priorities.

Mr. Lacson warned that large-scale insertions could strain the economy by diverting funds from programs that should be implemented at the village, city or regional levels.

He said he would raise the issue during budget deliberations, asking agencies why they allowed such items. “In scrutinizing the budget especially in the plenary, I want to know how much of the insertions were released and how they were implemented,” he said.

He also urged lawmakers to exercise restraint in pushing for locally funded infrastructure projects, which have come under scrutiny amid reports of ghost and anomalous flood control programs. — Adrian H. Halili

Filipino students in US reach 15-year high

US EMBASSY Chargé d’Affaires Y. Robert Ewing addressing students at the EducationUSA University Fair 2025 in Manila on Sunday. — PHILIPPINE STAR/RYAN BALDEMOR

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking

INTEREST among Filipinos in pursuing higher education in the US is growing, with the number of students enrolled in American universities reaching its highest in 15 years, according to US Embassy officials.

“We are focused on helping Filipinos pursue studies abroad in the United States,” US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Y. Robert Ewing said during the EducationUSA University Fair 2025 in Manila on Sunday.

The fair, marking its 10th anniversary, featured 29 US colleges and universities and highlighted the rising number of Filipino students studying in the US, which reached more than 4,100 in 2024, up from about 3,000 when the event first started.

Mr. Ewing said recent initiatives include Fulbright-Philippine Space Agency scholarships, an agreement with US energy company EOS to fund exchanges in civil-nuclear energy and new memoranda of understanding with Philippine universities and private companies.

EducationUSA, the embassy’s advising arm, provides a free and impartial resource for Filipinos seeking to study abroad.

“These partnerships are about developing the future workforce of the Philippines,” he said, highlighting key sectors such as energy, cybersecurity, maritime law enforcement and semiconductors.

He also cited the accessibility of the US community college system, which lets students complete two-year programs before transferring credits to four-year universities.

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairperson Shirley C. Agrupis said the agency is promoting policies to allow Filipino students abroad to acquire skills that contribute to national development. “That’s the real picture behind this transnational education,” she told BusinessWorld.

“We are expanding the educational system so that we will partner with universities that have a mutual recognition of the credits of the degree program,” Ms. Agrupis said. “What they earn in the United States is recognized here, and what they earn in the Philippines has an equivalency in the United States or anywhere else in the world.”

She said the policy direction of CHED now is to “prioritize the identified priority programs that are very hard to fill in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, US sports envoy and retired professional basketball player Taj McWilliams-Franklin cited how athletics could complement academic pursuits by young Filipinos.

“The development of women’s basketball in the Philippines is at a higher level now compared with 2016,” she told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the event. “Here in the Philippines… that means you’re doing something right and the college system is developing players well.”

ICI hearings not livestreamed

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on Sunday said its hearings are not livestreamed as it focuses on case preparation for potential criminal, civil and administrative actions.

Brian Keith Hosaka, ICI executive director, said initial hearings are meant to build cases that will eventually be referred to the appropriate agencies, such as the Ombudsman.

“The ICI is avoiding trial by publicity, and will not allow it to be used for any political leverage or agenda by any individual or group,” Mr. Hosaka said in a message to reporters.

He acknowledged public requests for livestreaming but said the commission is carefully weighing transparency against the protection of individual rights.

He added that the ICI aims to remain “surgical and deliberate in the performance of its mandate so that those who are truly responsible will be brought to justice with solid evidence and under the rule of law.”

Through Executive Order No. 94, the ICI has been tasked to investigate corruption in public works, including flood control and other infrastructure projects. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking

13 regions get 210,000 relief packs

MOTORISTS and commuters wade through gutter-deep flood along Taft Avenue in Manila following heavy rains, Aug. 24, 2025. — PHILIPPINE STAR/RYAN BALDEMOR

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had sent 210,533 family food packs to local governments for distribution to households affected by recent typhoons as of Sept. 28.

The relief aid was released after requests from local government units (LGU) responding to communities struck by Typhoons Mirasol, Nando, Opong and the southwest monsoon, it said in a statement on Sunday.

The assistance covered several regions across the country including the National Capital Region, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Negros Island, Eastern Visayas, Soccsksargen and the Cordillera Administrative Region. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Terror-linked drug suspects nabbed

COTABATO CITY — Police arrested two suspected crystal meth dealers who allegedly shared fractions of their earnings to the Dawlah Islamiya and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in separate entrapment operations on Sept. 26.

The suspects have been detained and were awaiting prosecution for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, local officials, among them members of the Cotabato City Peace and Order Council who helped plot the two entrapment operations, told reporters on Saturday.

One of the suspects was arrested after selling P1,500 worth shabu to operatives of the Cotabato City Police Station 3 during a tradeoff at Purok 8 in the village of Bagua 3. — John Felix M. Unson

Illegally logged timber seized

JOHN FELIX M. UNSON

COTABATO CITY — An inter-agency anti-illegal logging team confiscated 1,344 board feet of timber flitches in an operation near a tropical rainforest in Buldon town in Maguindanao del Norte on Sept. 26.

Bangsamoro regional officials told reporters on Saturday that the Lawaan timbers, cut into halves, costing no less than P60,000, were found piled in a grassy area in a secluded village in Buldon by combined personnel of the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Office, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office and a team from the Philippine Navy’s Marine Battalion Landing Team-6.

Municipal officials said the men watching over the illegally cut dipterocarp tree species that they were about to deliver somewhere fled when they sensed that the anti-illegal logging team, escorted by the navy, were approaching their location. — John Felix M. Unson

Ampatuan kin gunned down

JOHN FELIX M. UNSON

COTABATO CITY — A businesswoman belonging to the large and politically influential Ampatuan clan was shot dead by two gunmen in Maguindanao del Sur province on Sept. 27, police said.

Officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region told reporters on Sunday that Sharra Jou A. Ampatuan died on the spot from bullet wounds that she sustained in the attack.

Local executives and officials of the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office separately said on Sunday that Ms. Ampatuan was inspecting the surroundings of the Fajad Gasoline Station in the village of Kamasi in Ampatuan town when two men armed with pistols approached her and opened fire.

Ms. Ampatuan owned the gasoline station, located along a stretch of the Cotabato-Isulan Highway in Kamasi, not too far from roadside police and army detachments. — John Felix M. Unson

N. Vizcaya cracks down on overpriced sand

BAGUIO CITY — Nueva Vizcaya Governor Jose V. Gambito has ordered a crackdown on sand and gravel operators accused of overpricing, warning that violators would be blacklisted and banned from operating in the province.

The move follows the temporary suspension of quarry permits for operators lacking environmental compliance certificates (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Mr. Gambito said overpricing would result in a permanent ban, adding that the province wants to curb rising construction costs and unfair business practices.

A major concern is that many operators have not secured the ECCs, which are necessary before permits are issued. He added that permits would only be reinstated once environmental compliance is met. — Artemio A. Dumlao

MBC calls for AI-based corruption fighting tools

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

THE Makati Business Club (MBC) said the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) needs to harness artificial intelligence (AI) in investigating corruption in public works.

“They are under a lot of pressure to produce instant results. They (need to) work with the low-hanging fruit, which is essentially all of the cases already investigated by the Congress,” MBC Executive Director Rafael ASG Ongpin told reporters on the sidelines of the Arangkada Forum last week.

“Beyond that, there’s a lot of investigation that needs to be done. And we have suggested to them that they explore the use of AI in order to classify these transactions,” he added.

The group has floated the idea to ICI member and former Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio L. Singson, Mr. Ongpin said.

Corruption “is constantly happening; we have, for instance, several major multinationals that are pulling out of the Philippines. And one of the issues is corruption and red tape,” he said.

“We are engaging with the government about this and saying, ‘What’s the point of attracting more foreign direct investment if you can’t keep the ones who are already here?” he added.

He expressed optimism that the ICI will get results.

“The members are people of tremendous reputation and integrity. We are very happy about that. In fact, we had been working with Roger Singson in the Philippine Budget Coalition way before this thing blew up,” he said.

“But they have a huge job; we are talking about hundreds of thousands of transactions. They do not have the manpower at this point to scrutinize each of those transactions individually,” he added.

He said the MBC is working with civil society groups and the Philippine Budget Coalition in monitoring such transactions.

“Our role is to do the difficult and tedious work of monitoring. A lot of this starts with the national budget, so we are monitoring the deliberations on the national budget,” he said.

“We are making sure that they are not making last-minute insertions for discretionary infrastructure spending, which translated means pork barrel. That was what happened with the 2025 budget, so we are trying to make sure that we don’t get it in the 2026 budget,” he added.

Meanwhile, the MBC is also asking the government to review the current procurement process, he said.

“We have said publicly that obviously the procurement process is not working because nakakalusot ito (things have been getting through), so we have called for a review of the procurement process,” he said.

“Maybe not a review of the law but at least look at the execution and try to design something where mahirap makalusot,” he added.

Data center lead times may force gov’t to outsource

BW FILE PHOTO

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it may outsource the government’s planned data center to expedite the launch of services due to the long lead times involved in building its own facility.

“Maybe it will take two to three years to build a full-blown data center. So, in the meantime, we outsource to local hyperscalers while we are trying to build,” Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda told reporters on the sidelines of the Arangkada Philippines Investment Forum 2025 last week.

The DICT has no data center development timeline as yet, Mr. Aguda said.

“Our data center’s combined capacity is only around two to three megawatts (MW). We need around 200 MW… We do not want to rush the data center. We want to plan it first until next year, then maybe the development will happen after that,” he said, adding that a public-private partnership (PPP) could be tapped for the project.

Mr. Aguda said regarding the location of the data center, the DICT is capable of building in any region where it has a presence.

“We have 15 regions, we are in all 15 regions. The question right now is a matter of prioritization and how big the capacity is,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Aguda said that the study on the possible conversion of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) into a data center remains ongoing.

“The proposal is still being studied. There are two proponents for that. One wants to (use the plant for nuclear power) while the other wants to convert it into a data center,” Mr. Aguda said.

The DICT said in August that it plans to conduct its own study on converting the BNPP into a data center with a potential capacity of 600 megawatts.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency is currently studying the feasibility of the plan which is expected to be completed by November. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

ERC deliberating between overhaul of rules governing CoC or public offerings

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said it is weighing whether to act first in reviewing the public offering requirement (POR) for power companies or the Certificate of Compliance (CoC) rules.

“Do we address the CoC rules first? Do we need to amend our POR guidelines?” ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Francis Saturnino C. Juan said at an open commission meeting last week.

Section 43 of Republic Act No. 9136, or Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), requires unlisted generating companies and distribution utilities to offer and sell to the public at least 15% of their common stock.

New companies are required to offer shares to the public within five years from the issuance of their CoCs, a license issued by the ERC allowing the operation of a power plant or other facilities used in generating electricity.

A company can offer its shares by listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange or make a direct offer of stock to the public or its employees. It can also comply with the requirement by registering securities.

Only 40 of the 264 gencos are compliant with the POR requirement, while 131 are non-compliant, according to Sharon O. Montaner, ERC market operations service director. The POR requirement is not applicable to the rest.

The non-compliant power firms represent capacity of nearly 14,000 megawatts.

Ms. Montaner said some gencos have raised a number of issues, including whether the offer of shares to the public is substantially compliant with the POR rules if no one subscribed.

“They are now seeking confirmation whether that (qualifies as) substantial compliance with the POR rules because they have made an effort, ‘yun lang walang bumili (even though no one took up the offer),” she said.

“Imposing the implementation of offering and selling of securities to the public may be futile for some gencos and maybe unnecessary exercise and entail additional costs,” Ms. Montaner said, referring to underwriting fees and the minimum capital stock requirement,.

She added the requirement has been deemed a “barrier to entry” for small, stand-alone investors, and those who do not belong to a conglomerate.

Mr. Juan said that the ERC cannot issue provisional authority to operate to non-compliant power firms.

He said the rules need to be “aligned with the objective of ensuring the restructuring and modernization of the power industry.” — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

BIR needs to be mobilized in anti-corruption effort — ACG

PHILIPPINE STAR/JOHN RYAN BALDEMOR

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) needs to be set loose against those involved in corrupt public works projects, the Asian Consulting Group (ACG) said.

“People are angry; are already clamoring not to pay taxes, so civil disobedience (could be emerging). We do not support that; we want taxes to still be paid,” ACG Chief Tax Advisor Raymond Abrea told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the Arangkada Forum.

“But we want BIR to suspend their audits to focus their resources on running after these flood control project contractors, officials, and legislators,” he added.

He said that the end goal is to recover the stolen money, collect taxes on undeclared gains, and perpetually disqualify officials from public office.

He also said the corruption scandal presents an opportunity to clean house and improve the ease of doing business.

“Because they have been exposed, with this exposure comes the power of the citizen to participate and to really make their voices heard that they don’t want corruption but good governance,” he said.

“This is also what our investors like, so we can share proudly and honestly with the world that with citizen participation, we are really helping our government to promote good governance and transparency,” he added.

He said such measures can be better enforced by lifting bank secrecy rules and making political dynasties illegal. — Justine Irish D. Tabile

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