Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday renewed his call to abolish the "Leadership Fund" or allocables from the national budget, branding it not merely as another form of pork barrel, but a worse version of the outlawed system.

Lacson said the testimony of former Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan in the Sandiganbayan Wednesday, as well as recent developments on anomalous flood control projects, highlighted how the "Leadership Fund" gave legislators an opportunity to make budget insertions even during the preparation phase of the national budget.

Bonoan told the Sandiganbayan that senators received a "leadership fund" allocation of at least ₱500 million each, with major committee chairpersons getting up to ₱1 billion each.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday denied that senators’ project lists ever passed through his office when he was Senate president, following Bonoan’s claim that senators were given infrastructure allocations of up to PHP1 billion each under a “leadership fund.”

"The Leadership Fund aka 'allocables' is a worse version of the outlawed pork barrel system. It added another layer that provided legislators opportunity to make budget insertions even during the Preparation Phase of the national budget, or before the National Expenditure Program (NEP) is transmitted to the Congress for deliberations by both chamber, where further insertions could still be introduced," said Lacson.

"With all that said, I maintain that such anomaly in the passage of the national budget must stop," he added.

The "leadership fund" was first exposed in September last year when Bonoan mentioned it during a Senate Blue Ribbon hearing chaired by Lacson on the flood control scandal.

At the time, Bonoan - replying to Lacson's query on how legislators inserted projects into the budget proposal that had not yet entered the legislative phase - said the Department of Public Works and Highways consolidated lawmakers' requested proposals into the NEP, including through the “leadership fund” in the Senate.

Bonoan said the proposals were vetted with the DPWH’s planning service so the projects being included “are consistent with development programs.”

He also said the insertions were allowed at the NEP stage to avoid complications during the bicameral conference committee, prompting Lacson to remind him that "the role of lawmakers is in the authorization phase,” or when the budget bill is submitted to Congress for deliberation.