Manila: Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday rejected claims that the Senate inserted a PHP17.9-billion pork barrel fund in the proposed 2026 national budget, stating that the questioned amount was a realignment intended to increase the subsistence allowance of uniformed personnel.

According to Philippines News Agency, Lacson addressed the claims made by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio regarding supposed 'Senate pork.' Lacson described these allegations as resulting from either 'trabahong tamad (lazy work)' or a deliberate effort to discredit and destabilize the Senate. He explained that the 'Senate pork' mentioned by Rep. Tinio were actually reallocations aimed at boosting the subsistence allowance for personnel from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Philippine Coast Guard.

Lacson further criticized Rep. Tinio, suggesting that he either failed to conduct adequate research or was intentionally trying to undermine the Senate to divert attention from the House of Representatives. Reports had previously quoted Tinio as asserting that the Senate version of the proposed 2026 General Appropriations Bill included an alleged PHP17.9-billion 'LGU pork,' reportedly sourced from cuts to benefits of rank-and-file government employees and realigned to discretionary funds.

In response to these allegations, Lacson clarified that the funds in question originated from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund and were redirected solely for the purpose of providing an additional subsistence allowance to uniformed services. During a DZBB radio interview, Lacson emphasized that the realignment was an institutional amendment and that no individual senator would benefit from it.