Metro Manila, Philippines – House Speaker Martin Romualdez and two other lawmakers are expected to face criminal complaints to be filed by Duterte allies over what they alleged as P241-billion worth of insertions in the 2025 budget.
Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, senatorial aspirants Jimmy Bondoc and Raul Lambino, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, and non-government organization Citizens Crime Watch announced they will file the complaints on Monday, Feb. 10, before the City Prosecutor’s Office in Quezon City.
House Majority Leader and Zamboanga 2nd District Rep. Mannix Dalipe and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, former House appropriations committee chairperson, will also be named respondents.
“This is falsification of legislative documents, which is a crime,” Topacio said in a news conference on Saturday. “It’s a crime not only under the Revised Penal Code but in view of the amount involved. It is a crime against the Filipino people.”
Their arguments stemmed from the claims raised by former President Rodrigo Duterte regarding alleged blank allocations in the bicameral conference committee report, which reconciled the differences of the Senate and House budget bills.
With the same issue, former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab, and others already filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition against the General Appropriations Act (GAA) before the Supreme Court.
“No’ng tiningnan namin kung magkano ‘yong ipinasok nila na halaga, ito ay nagka-total P241 billion,” Alvarez said. “Ngayon ewan ko kung matatawag na typographical error ‘yan, napakalaking halaga.”
[Translation: When we checked how much were the insertions, they totaled P241 billion. I don’t know if we can call that a typographical error. The amount is too big.]
Several House leaders on Sunday defended the budget process and dismissed the plan of Alvarez’s group.
“We’re ready to explain everything that happened during the budget process. We have nothing to hide,” House Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. David Suarez said.
Suarez, House Deputy Majority Leader and La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega, and House Assistant Majority Leader and Zambales Rep. Jay Khonghun also questioned the move’s timing, claiming it was a distraction from Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment.
“Nang maipadala na sa Senado ang impeachment complaint, biglang may ganitong aksyon laban kay Speaker Romualdez. Malinaw na diversionary tactic ito,” Khonghun said.
[Translation: When the impeachment complaint was transmitted to the Senate, here comes a move against Speaker Romualdez. It’s clear this is just a diversionary tactic.]
“Huwag nilang gawing panakip-butas si Speaker Romualdez para takasan ang pananagutan,” Ortega said.
[Translation: They should not use Speaker Romualdez as a cover to evade accountability.]
House appropriations committee acting chairperson and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo clarified that there were blanks in the signed bicam report, but not in the enrolled bill.
Quimbo said the amount of the allocations had already been decided before the technical staff of both the House and Senate made the necessary corrections.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said he is confident of the budget’s constitutionality. The government has been told to comment on the Supreme Court petition.
