Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste has disclosed what he described as unexplained “incentives” offered to lawmakers ahead of the approval of the 2026 national budget.

In an interview on DZRH’s Special on Saturday, Leviste said he received a text message from a congressional staff member a week before the budget’s scheduled approval, asking him to meet at a lounge without specifying the agenda.

During the meeting, Leviste said the staff member presented him with a paper listing budget items totaling PHP 151 million.

“The staff said to me, Cong, this is your incentive,’” Leviste recalled. He added that other congressmen were also shown similar lists of budget allocations.

Leviste explained that while the allocations themselves were not necessarily wrong, the timing and lack of transparency raised concerns.

“Dahil ito’y 1 week before the budget, naisip ko kaya pala ang ekspektasyon ay maaaprubahan ang budget na hindi idedebate at hindi kekwestyunin, [dahil] may ibinibigay naman kasi na incentives sa mga mambabatas.”

He called for greater transparency in how budget incentives are distributed, expressing that although the allocations are not wrong, he only requests that all incentives for members of Congress should be made public.

Leviste also shared that such practices have existed for some time but may be growing due to the increasing size of the national budget, now at PHP 6.7 trillion.

He cited internal communications showing requests for PHP 150 million in infrastructure for district representatives, PHP 160 million for partylist representatives, and PHP 30 million in “soft” allocations.

“Ngunit hindi naman masama na ang mga mambabatas ay nagbibigay ng input para sa budget pero una magandang aminin na ang NEP (National Expenditure Program) ng DPWH pala ay may mga di umano’y insertion ng mga mambabatas at pangalawa, isapubliko anuman ang mga line items na nanggaling sa mga mambabatas.” he said.

Leviste emphasized the importance of transparency to prevent confusion in investigations of alleged ghost projects, citing that when agencies like the ICI or Ombudsman investigate ghost projects, they don’t always know who proposed them.

“Pero may datos kasi alam natin mismo sa loob ng kongreso sinusulat sino ‘yong nagpapasa ng bawat isang proyekto,” the lawmaker said, explaining that the Congress has information on project proponents.

The congressman also confirmed that some lawmakers, congress people have already inserted within the NEP even before it has been approved by the House of Representatives.

“‘Yong standard para sa lahat ay 180 million pesos ayon sa mga chat sa viber ng aming mga chiefs of staff. On top of ‘yong mga allocation bilang district representative na umaabot ng 400 billion pesos sa DPWH and on top of ‘yong mga extra kung ikaw ay may leadership position.”

Leviste noted that as votes approach for the approval of the 2026 national budget, House of Representatives staff also reveal each lawmaker’s incentives during private meetings.

“Siguro ever since naman may mga ganito pero dahil nananawagan ang gobyerno ngayon ng transparency, maganda sana malaman natin ang allocable at incentive ng bawat isa.”