LACSON WON’T SIGN BUDGET BICAM REPORT WITH QUESTIONABLE MEDICAL AID, FARM-TO-MARKET ROAD PROVISIONS

UNLESS the provisions granting the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) a massive budget increase and allocating billions for potentially unvetted farm-to-market roads are corrected, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson will not sign to ratify the bicameral conference committee report on the 2026 budget.

Lacson drew the line on the matter Sunday after the Bicameral Conference Committee decided to increase the MAIFIP’s2026 budget to P51 billion, and provide P33 billion for farm-to-market roads.

“Sorry, unless rectified in its final version, I cannot sign to ratify a bicam report with P51 billion for MAIFIP, with nothing but guarantee letters from politicians and is not compliant with the Universal Health Care Act. Further, I will not associate myself with the P33-billion spending for unplanned and unvetted farm-to-market roads,” said Lacson, an eagle-eyed watchdog of the national budget.

“Unless we adequately fund the UHC programs such that they cover all barangays and ensure zero billing, among others, we cannot fully implement the UHC law that we passed.  All health-related funds must be subsumed under the Universal Health Care program of the Department of Health. Guarantee letters from politicians will only guarantee patronage politics but not the health care needs of Filipinos, especially the indigents,” he stressed.

At the first day of the Bicameral Conference Committee’s deliberations on the 2026 budget bill Saturday, lawmakers increased the MAIFIP’s 2026 budget to P51 billion -higher than the P42 billion in 2025 and bigger than the House’s initial proposal of P49 billion, which the Senate cut toP29 billion.

The lawmakers at the Bicameral Conference Committee deliberations also decided to provide farm-to-arket roads with P33 billion. This is higher than the P32 billion in the House version of the budget bill, and double the P16 billion in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Earlier, Lacson noted the MAIFIP has been prone to political patronage, as it allows government officials to issue guarantee letters for indigent patients.

One of his priority bills, Senate Bill 404, seeks to free MAIFIP from politics by placing it under the framework of the Universal Health Care Act, and penalizing political exploitation and manipulation of the program.

During the Senate deliberations on the budget bill, Lacson questioned if the list of farm-to-market roads that would potentially be funded by the realignment of P255.5 billion in flood control project funds came from the Department of Agriculture or from congressmen.