Senator Win Gatchalian has called for a more detailed and transparent 2026 national budget, urging government agencies to specify every project line item to eliminate opportunities for corruption.

During the continuation of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget hearing, Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance, said a high level of budget granularity is crucial to prevent discretionary spending and irregularities.

“Let’s take this as a wake-up call to reform our budget nomenclature, process, and implementation,” the senator said.

He cited proposed projects like farm-to-market roads (FMRs) that often lack specific information such as station numbers, coordinates, or exact lengths — details that are necessary to distinguish one project from another.

Gatchalian also noted instances where projects under the 2026 budget share the same title as those already funded in 2025, warning that such duplication creates a window for misuse of funds.

“Dapat pagdating sa budget, wala nang room for discretion. Kapag approved na ‘yung budget, i-implement na lang nang tama,” he stressed. “Nilalagyan natin ng detalye para walang room ang mga corrupt officials na paglaruan ang generic titles.”