PARTIDO Reporma standard-bearer Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson on Friday supported the fiscal consolidation plan of the National Economic and Development Authority for the next administration.

Lacson admitted that keeping the national budget “fat-free” will be crucial in helping the country recover from the effects of the pandemic.

The NEDA is crafting the budget consolidation plan to repay the country’s ballooning debt and narrow the budget deficit caused by the pandemic.

Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon was quoted in reports as saying the plan will include cuts on non-priority budget items.

“Thank you NEDA. This is what I’ve always been saying during budget deliberations. With a yearly average of P328 billion unused appropriations for the past 10 years from 2010 to 2020 and P700 billion in misused/abused budget each year, there couldn’t be a better advice,” he said.

He was referring to the lack of proper budget planning that left P328 billion unused every year from 2010 to 2020.