Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson denied the allegation that a ₱17.9-billion Senate “pork barrel” fund was included in the 2026 national budget.

Lacson explained that, in accordance with the Senate’s institutional amendment, the amount was realigned from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) to increase the subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel, reported RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas.

The amendment does not benefit its proponent, the Senate, the lawmaker said. Those who will include the personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

Lacson said ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio—who claimed the amount was for the Senate’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)—was either “too lazy to do his research or malevolently destabilizing the Senate to take the heat off the House of Representatives” amid deliberations on the national budget.

Tinio earlier alleged that the Senate version of the budget had slashed benefits for rank-and-file government employees, which were shifted to “discretionary pork barrel funds for Local Government Units (LGUs).”