CHIZ: LGU PARTICIPATION IN BUDGET PROCESS SHOULD BE A MUST

SENATOR Francis “Chiz” Escudero is challenging the chairpersons of the congressional committees tasked with handling the 2026 national spending package to show their commitment to instituting budget reforms by letting the local government units (LGUs) to have a greater nod in the identification and implementation of infrastructure projects.

With Congress still in the thick of going over the proposed 2026 budget, Escudero said they still have time and opportunity to show the Filipino people that it is serious in plugging the loopholes in the budget process that has led to abuses in the “power over the purse.”

“Ang maaaring gawin agad ng mga pinuno ng Committee on Finance ng Senado at ng Appropriations Committee ng Kamara ay bigyan ng mas malaking papel ang ating mga LGU sa usapin ng infrastructure projects. Ang mga senador at kongresista ay nariyan lamang para makinig at bigyan daan ang mga pangangailangan ng ating mga taumbayan,” Escudero said.

The senator from Sorsogon said that significant steps can already be done in the preparation of the 2026 national budget to protect it from potential abuse by including the endorsement of the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) as an indispensable requirement for infrastructure projects of government agencies that will be part of the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

In a letter addressed to Senate Committee on Finance chairman Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Escudero said that his proposed Grassroots Infrastructure Planning and Budgeting Act will strengthen the role of the RDCs in the budget process by making their endorsement a requirement or condition sine qua non for the inclusion of any infrastructure project in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) or in the GAA.

Ecudero recently filed Senate Bill No. 1459 to give the LGUs a say in proposing and implementing infrastructure projects in their jurisdictions.

“It is unlikely that Congress will have time to pass the bill, but we can already include a provision in the 2026 GAA to implement the same and start the process of cleaning up the budget of unnecessary or worse, non-existing or ghost projects,” Escudero said.

The former Senate leader and finance panel chair told Gatchalian that the application of the endorsement requirement for infrastructure projects could be done through a general provision under the 2026 national budget or as a special provision under specific agency appropriations.

The proposed 2026 national budget has been approved by the House of Representatives and is currently being deliberated in the Senate.

“This will go a long way in preventing the inclusion of projects that are redundant, prone to corruption and have absolutely no benefit for the communities and people where these are situated,” the veteran legislator said.

In filing SBN 1459, Escudero emphasized the need to give the LGUs, through their RDCs and either the Provincial Development Council or the City/Municipal Development Council and their respective Sanggunian, a greater participation in the proposal, preparation, and implementation of infrastructure projects.

As what has been revealed by numerous local government officials in the ongoing investigations into the flood control controversy, they were not consulted by the proponents of the projects before these were included in the NEP and during their implementation in the GAA.

“Ang mga LGU ang mas nakakaalam kung ano ang kailangan ng kanilang mga lugar pagdating sa infrastructure projects. Kaya nararapat at dapat lang na sila ang unang kinakausap bago pa mabuo ang NEP at sa pag-implementa ng mga proyektong ito para walang nasasayang na pera ng taumbayan,” Escudero said.

Under the Escudero bill, for fiscal year 2026, prior endorsement of RDCs will apply to infrastructure projects implemented by national government agencies, including but not limited to, the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Department of Transportation.

The release of funds and the procurement activities related to the projects are contingent on the requirement of prior endorsement.

“This is the spirit of Bottom-up Budgeting that has been espoused for years to make the budget process more efficient, effective and more meaningful for the people,” Escudero said.