ALBAY 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman claimed on Tuesday that the budget for the conduct of plebiscites and referendums ballooned by 700 percent due to an insertion made by the Bicameral Conference Committee under the budget of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Lagman, who earlier revealed that the House supermajority had begun its campaign for Charter change (Cha-cha) through people's initiative, said the budget of the Comelec for the 'conduct and supervision of elections, referenda, recall votes and plebiscites' is at P14 billion, an increase of 700 percent from the 2023 allocation of P2 billion.