Sen. Panfilo Lacson has resigned as vice chairman of the Senate finance committee and chairman of one of its subcommittees so that he can focus on scrutinizing the proposed P5.02 trillion national budget for 2022 and the red flags raised by the Commission on Audit.
Lacson, who has earned the reputation as a watchdog of the national budget, sent his resignation letter to Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who read and accepted it during the chamber's plenary session on Monday.
The Department of Budget and Management on Monday also submitted the 2022 National Expenditure Program to Congress, signalling the start of the congressional budget deliberations.
According to Lacson, the red flags raised by COA on the budget utilization of some agencies including that of the Department of Health indicate the "blatant inefficiency, unconscionable incompetence and worse, probable misuse and abuse of public funds in virtually the entire government."
"I trust that it is to the greatest interest of our people to once and for all, ferret out the truth behind these reports, put value to the oft-ignored COA mandate, and ensure that there will be no 'sacred cows' in making accountable those who have blundered the effective and proper use of public monies," he said in his resignation letter.
Despite his resignation from his posts in the Senate finance panel, Lacson assured that he would still actively participate in the budget deliberations and "reinforce the democratic system of checks and balances."
As chairman of the Senate Finance Subcommittee C, Lacson was responsible for sponsoring the annual budgets of the following agencies:
- Department of Information and Communications Technology and its attached agencies
- Department of National Defense and its attached agencies
- Commission on Human Rights
- Dangerous Drugs Board
- Mindanao Development Authority
- Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
- Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
- Presidential Legislative Liaison Office
- Southern Philippines Development Authority
Lacson earlier announced that he would be running for president in the 2022 elections, with Sotto as his running mate.
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