Gary Manalo

Ang kapal ng mukha ni Chiz Escudero na pagalitan ang House of Representatives for budget insertions and pork barrel pero siya pala mismo, hitik na hitik ang insertions! Kaya pala many Senators are salivating to join Chiz’ majority bloc. What an eye-popping article to read! ——— “Senate President Francis Escudero wielded his budgetary influence to insert a staggering ₱142.7 billion into the proposed ₱6.3-trillion 2025 national budget, channeling funds into infrastructure and flood control projects riddled with red flags—ranging from overlapping roadworks to questionable flood mitigation efforts. A summary of insertions obtained by Politiko reveals how Escudero funneled billions into what appear to be politically motivated allocations, raising serious concerns over transparency, duplication, and backdoor dealmaking masquerading as development. Escudero’s budgetary maneuvering came at the expense of core government priorities. According to GlobalSource Partners, a New York-based think tank, allocations for social services and economic programs dropped by 33.4% and 29.2%, respectively, compared to the 2024 budget—a steep price paid for pork. The lion’s share of Escudero’s insertions went to political allies and home turfs. Bulacan, the stronghold of Senator Joel Villanueva, received the single largest chunk with ₱12.08 billion. Villanueva, a close ally of Escudero, is reportedly poised to reclaim the post of Senate Majority Leader if Escudero formally assumes Senate leadership on July 28. Sorsogon, Escudero’s own province, came in second with ₱9.1 billion. Flood control projects got a sizeable share of the insertions in the top 10 areas that received allocations from Escudero at P17 billion. While flooding remains a chronic problem in the Philippines, particularly during typhoon season, the manner in which these projects were listed raised eyebrows. In General Nakar, Quezon, for instance, Escudero inserted five flood control projects along the Agos River, each worth ₱150 million, and labeled them as “phases” despite seemingly referring to the same area and waterway. Collectively, these flood control phases amount to ₱750 million, raising suspicions of “budget layering”—a practice where the same or similar projects are listed in parts to bypass scrutiny and inflate allocations. Even more concerning, the entries lack engineering detail, geographic coordinates, or references to previous feasibility studies. In some cases, they simply state: “Construction of flood mitigation structure along Agos River, General Nakar, Phase X.” In Bulacan, Escudero’s second most favored province after his own Sorsogon, multiple line items reveal near-identical road projects repeated under slightly altered titles or segmented kilometer markings. The Sta. Rita–Biak Na Bato Road in San Miguel, Bulacan was listed multiple times, under names such as Segment A, Segment B, Segment C, and Packages A through E. Each of these entries had a uniform cost of ₱100 million, adding up to ₱500 million for what essentially appears to be one road corridor. Another road, the San Miguel–Sibul Road, also appeared four times—again split into “Package A” to “Package D”—with identical ₱100-million allocations. That’s ₱400 million for the same route. These patterns suggest a deliberate attempt to slice projects into smaller chunks, each remaining under thresholds that typically trigger closer scrutiny by the Department of Budget and Management or the Commission on Audit. Multiple entries for the same road sections or with overlapping kilometer markers (especially in Bulacan and Quezon) suggest possible duplication of funding or budget padding. Another red flag is the series of solar street lighting projects across Eastern Bulacan Road, General Alejo Santos Highway, Plaridel Access Road, and stretches of the Maharlika Highway. These were all marked at ₱100 million each, regardless of actual road length or vehicle/pedestrian traffic volume.”