DOCUMENTS from the camp of the late Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Catalina Cabral and from the DPWH itself showed at least five Cabinet members and even some undersecretaries had allocables and/or non-allocables amounting to billions of pesos in the 2025 budget, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Saturday.
Lacson said these include one “ES” who had P8.3 billion, and ex-DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan, whose allocables for 2025 alone amounted to at least P30.5 billion.
“At least five Cabinet secretaries and some undersecretaries had allocables and/or non-allocables, according to the documents. I was surprised at one entry that said ‘ES, P8 billion.’ How did one ‘ES’ get allocables?” he said in English and Filipino in an interview on DWIZ.
“For Bonoan, I saw his allocables include P5 billion, plus three more batches totaling P25.5 billion, so P30.5 billion in all. What is his right to the allocables? Also, I saw the other Cabinet secretaries getting P2 billion each. Why?” he added.
