MANILA - Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Friday decried the "mangling" of the P4.5-trillion 2021 national budget, saying "not even the pandemic and its crippling effects could stop the greed of some lawmakers" from prioritizing their pet projects over COVID-19-response programs.
"Kapag hindi involved 'yung DPWH sa planning, ang resulta underutilization ng budget. How could they implement something, a project na hindi naman nila plinano?" he said. "Hindi lang dahil gusto nila tumulong sa district pero para malaki 'yung project na ang contractor ay sila mismo o kapatid nila, kamag-anak nila," he said.
The DICT initially asked for P18 billion to lay down broadband cables from Aparri to Jolo and from Palawan to Samar so that government agencies would no longer have to pay for internet services from private telcos.