MANILA – Senator Francis Escudero said Thursday local government units (LGUs) should have a greater role in identifying infrastructure projects in their areas to ensure that public funds are spent on beneficial programs.
Escudero said this principle should guide the preparation of the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and future national budgets, noting that the recent spate of substandard and “ghost” flood control projects underscores the need for meaningful reform in the government’s infrastructure planning and budgeting process.
“Sa dami ng mga lumitaw na problema sa mga government infrastructure projects kabilang na ang mga substandard at ‘ghost’ flood control projects, kailangan talaga na gumawa ng makabuluhan na solusyon para hindi na nasasayang ang pera ng bayan sa katiwalian (With so many problems surfacing in government infrastructure projects, including substandard and ‘ghost’ flood control works, there is a real need for meaningful solutions so that public funds would no longer be wasted on corruption)," he said.
He said many of the questionable projects stem from arbitrary budget insertions made by lawmakers in coordination with some Executive officials, bypassing the established scrutiny of the budget process.
“This is the very issue being raised with regard to insertions in the budget,” he said, adding that these items “came out of nowhere” without proper feasibility studies or confirmation of their necessity.
To address this, Escudero filed the proposed Grassroots Infrastructure Planning and Budgeting Act, which would require all infrastructure projects to have prior endorsement from the Regional Development Council (RDC) and the relevant Provincial, City, or Municipal Development Council and their respective Sanggunian (Boards) before being included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted to Congress.
“Doon pa lang sa NEP, dapat wala nang nakakalusot na proyekto na hindi kailangan ng isang probinsya o bayan (As early as in the NEP, no project that a province or town does not need should be able to slip through)," he said.
He added that LGU endorsement should be mandatory even for amendments introduced by lawmakers during the budget deliberations to ensure that local priorities are upheld.
Under the bill, endorsement by the RDCs or local governing bodies would be an indispensable requirement before any infrastructure project could be included in the GAA or receive fund releases from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
“Pag walang endorsement o approval ng RDC, walang pera na ilalabas ang DBM para sa anumang proyekto (Without RDC endorsement or approval, the DBM will not release funds for any project)," Escudero said.
He urged his colleagues in both chambers of Congress to prioritize the passage of the measure, saying it would curb budget irregularities and reinforce transparency and accountability in the national budgeting process. (PNA)