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Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday said he had not received any offer of an “allocation fund” from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), similar to the one claimed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
“Wala [ganyang offer sa akin]... Hindi ko alam ang detalye... Pero ako personally, wala akong ganyan,” Gatchalian told Super Radyo dzBB.
(I did not receive such an offer. I do not know the details, but personally, I did not receive anything like that.)
Gatchalian made the statement after Lacson revealed that TESDA had offered him a P5-million allocation through his Senate staff, which he rejected.
The “allocation fund” purportedly is believed to be intended for projects or programs under the agency. The term is not an official budget classification, and the details of the alleged arrangement, including who would control the funds and how they would be spent, remain unclear.
Lacson said he would seek clarification on the matter when the Senate takes up TESDA’s proposed 2027 budget in plenary next month.
TESDA Secretary-General Jose Francisco Benitez denied the allegation, saying he had not authorized anyone to make such an offer to Lacson.
“As TESDA Secretary, I did not authorize anyone to offer any allocation or one amounting to P5 million to Senator Ping Lacson,” Benitez said in a statement.
“We thank the Senator for promptly informing us of these misrepresentations. We welcome the opportunity to get to the bottom of this matter and fully support efforts to establish the facts,” he added.— MCG, GMA News
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