Metro Manila, Philippines – Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said Senator Imee Marcos was the one behind ₱2.5 billion in “allocables” in last year’s budget, an allegation the presidential sister denied, triggering a brewing dispute.
“Allocables” refer to discretionary funds in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget assigned to congressional districts supposedly with lawmaker influence. Critics have likened these to the so-called pork barrel, which the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in 2013.
The late DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina “Cathy” Cabral admitted to crafting a formula to determine district allocations, but she disputed a text message shown by Lacson in which she supposedly offered Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III ₱500 million in “allocables.”
In a press release on Sunday, Jan. 11, Lacson said documents provided by Cabral’s camp showed that Marcos had requested ₱2.5 billion in “allocables,” which he said were reflected in the National Expenditure Program submitted by the Executive branch to Congress.
Lacson added that much of the amount eventually made its way into the 2025 General Appropriations Act through insertions during the bicameral conference committee deliberations.
“While part of the insertions were flagged for later release, part of her (Marcos) FLR allocables had been released,” Lacson said.
Marcos laughed off Lacson’s claim but admitted she submitted funding requests to the DPWH, insisting that none of them had been released.
“Medyo nakakatawa siya, ‘di niya alam na lahat yan ay wish list na binigay sa DPWH Central Office. Clueless ba siya na kaming mga oposisyon lahat FLR or ‘for later release’ kaya ni isa diyan ay walang naibigay,” Marcos said.
[Translation: It’s kind of laughable. He doesn’t seem to know that all of those were just wish lists submitted to the DPWH Central Office. Is he clueless that all of us in the opposition were tagged as FLR, or “for later release,” which is why not a single peso of those was actually released?]
The presidential sister has been a staunch critic of the P6.793-trillion national budget for 2026, saying it is riddled with pork barrel funds. She said she opposed such allocations during the bicameral conference committee deliberations but was unsuccessful.
Lacson, however, said Marcos “has no moral ascendancy to criticize,” claiming she had pork barrel allocations in the 2025 GAA. He also pointed out that while Marcos has criticized increases in social aid programs such as the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) — calling them “soft pork” — she had previously attended aid distribution activities.
“She was so fond of attending such distributions, and now she says there is ‘pork giniling’ in the budget? You know, if you don’t have any moral ascendancy, just keep quiet because it will come back to you. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” Lacson said.
The verbal tussle between Lacson and Marcos reignited after Marcos accused Lacson of blocking opposition senators from linking former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to the flood control controversy in his capacity as chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee. Lacson denied the accusation, and pointed out that Marcos repeatedly snubbed the hearings he presided over.
The next hearing is on Jan. 19.
There has been much debate over how the “Cabral files” should be used in investigations into government officials’ alleged involvement in budget insertions linked to anomalous flood control and infrastructure projects. Lacson said the DPWH must first authenticate the documents.
