Ping, Win say Tinio wrong to tag realigned funds as ‘pork’
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and finance committee chair Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian on Wednesday denied the claim of ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio that the upper chamber made massive cuts in the benefits for rank-and-file government employees for 2026 and lodged P17.9 billion of these in discretionary “pork barrel” funds for local government units (LGUs).
However, Lacson and Gatchalian differed on their explanation on the purpose of the fund realignment.
Lacson, criticizing Tinio for either being “too lazy to do his research or he is malevolently destabilizing the Senate to take the heat off the House of Representatives” as the bicameral conference committee continued its deliberations on the proposed 2026 budget, said the P17.9 billion are actually realignments to increase the subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel.
“The ‘Senate pork’ referred to by Tinio is 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 stressed.
“I want to clarify that what Tinio said was wrong. The amount was realigned from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) but went to the additional subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel,” Lacson said in an interview on dzBB radio.
He also pointed out that this was an institutional amendment, with the proponent not standing to gain from it.
“All our (Senate) amendments are institutional and openly proposed on the Senate floor during the period of individual amendments,” Lacson said.
“Everything was transcribed and is now part of the Senate records for all future generations of senators to see,” he added.
Fund for vital services
On the other hand, Gatchalian categorically dismissed as “baseless and grossly misleading” Tinio’s allegation, noting that the increase in the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) is not pork, but an investment in the lifeblood of communities.
“By strengthening LGUs the government can ensure that resources reach the grassroots level where they are most urgently needed, for instance, funding vital services, such as health centers, classrooms, and disaster preparedness programs,” he pointed out.
Gatchalian stressed that the reduction in the MPBF should not be misconstrued as a cut to government employees’ rightful benefits.
“The Department of Budget and Management itself has clarified that the MPBF is a reserve fund intended to cover contingencies, and not a direct salary or benefit allocation,” the senator noted.
“The Senate’s adjustments to the national budget were made with full transparency and in line with constitutional mandates,” Gatchalian clarified.
Tinio earlier noted that the Senate slashed the MPBF by P55 billion, reducing it from P111.5 billion in the National Expenditure Program to P56.5 billion in their version of the General Appropriations Bill.
The lawmaker said that the Senate bloated the allocations to LGUs, “nearly doubling” the LGSF to P38.1 billion from P20.2 billion.
