Stop corruption; fix the system now

When former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan revealed before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee the existence of a so-called “leadership fund” within the National Expenditure Program (NEP), it unveiled a systemic normalization of budgetary manipulation in the guise of public service.

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Described as a consolidation of funds intended for priority projects that may be requested by lawmakers, the so-called leadership fund raises serious ethical and structural questions. While Bonoan refrained from characterizing it as an insertion, his admission points to a longstanding and informal practice that exists in the blind spots of the public budgeting system—spaces where discretion, rather than regulation, governs the flow of billions in taxpayer money.

Such practices should no longer be tolerated. They are antithetical to fiscal transparency, public accountability, and the rule of law. They reveal the dangerous elasticity of budget mechanisms that can be easily stretched to serve political interests under the guise of public service.

This systemic flaw calls for nothing less than a comprehensive overhaul of the country's fiscal policy.