Raps to be filed over 2025 budget 'insertions'

Criminal complaints are set to be filed against House Speaker Martin Romualdez and two other lawmakers over the alleged P241 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget.

Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez; senatorial aspirants Atty. Jimmy Bondoc and Atty. Raul Lambino; Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, and; non-government organization Citizens Crime Watch made their announcement at the Kamuning Bakery news forum.

They said they are set to file falsification of legislative documents charges against Romualdez, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose "Mannix" Dalipe, former House appropriations committee chairperson and Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co, and other unnamed individuals at the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office on Monday.

This, as Alvarez raised anew the supposed blank entries in the bicameral conference committee report on the national budget.

"Nagulat na lang kaming lahat noong makita namin kung bakit iyon in-e-mail sa amin na bicam report. May mga blangko po rito. Ngunit noong pinirmahan ng presidente, kumpleto na," Alvarez.

(We were all surprised when we saw the bicam report sent to us via e-mail. There were blanks. But when the president signed it, it was complete.)

"Ewan ko kung matatawag na typographical error 'yan o grammatical error. Napakalaki po ng halaga, P241 billion," he added.

(I am not sure if that could be called a typographical error or a grammatical error. The amount is huge, P241 billion.)

In a separate statement, Topacio said that ''these amounts were illegally inserted, without authority, because it was done so after the Bicam Report was ratified, and therefore the amounts inserted were not found in the approved Bicam Report and, worse, were not ratified by Congress.''

''The correct thing to have done was to keep the blanks left as blanks, because this is what Congress ratified, but, instead, they did the exact opposite. They illegally inserted amounts worth P241 billion. This is not a correction; this is an unauthorized insertion that violated the Revised Penal Code.''

Alvarez said they have made several requests for the enrolled bill, but had yet to receive it.

"Hanggang ngayon po itinatago sa amin 'yan. Hindi po niri-release ang enrolled bill ng House of Representatives," he said.

(Up until now it was kept from us. The enrolled bill is not being released by the House of Representatives.)

Romualdez's camp, meanwhile, told GMA News Online that "we will wait for the copy of the complaint to be filed." 

Alvarez and Bondoc, who are known allies of Duterte, denied the move was due to a "political war" with the Marcoses.

Bondoc said the filing of criminal charges was separate from his vying for a Senate seat, but that he was acting in his capacity as part of the legal team of the PDP Laban.

"We are really fighting against the corruption that is nasa institusyon. Wala po itong kinalaman sa politika. Very little to do with politics."

(We are really fighting against the corruption that is in the institution. It has nothing to do with politics. Very little to do with politics.)

"Itong pag-file namin ng criminal cases, hindi po kasama sa politika ito. Malinaw na mayroong krimen na nangyari," added Alvarez.

(This filing of criminal cases has nothing to do with politics. It is clear that a crime was committed.)

Marcos on December 30 last year signed into law the P6.326-trillion national budget for 2025 and vetoed over P194 billion worth of line items that are not consistent with his administration's priorities.

Last month, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab  flagged supposed discrepancies in the 2025 budget, citing missing budget amounts for items under the Department of Agriculture and unprogrammed appropriations.

But Marcos said Duterte was “lying.”

Former executive secretary and senatorial aspirant Vic Rodriguez, Ungab, and others have asked the Supreme Court (SC) to declare the 2025 national budget as unconstitutional amid alleged irregularities and supposed blank items in the bicameral conference committee report.

House appropriations panel acting chairperson Stella Quimbo previously confirmed that there were blank items in the bicameral report on the P6.325 trillion national budget for 2025. But she quickly added that funding for these items had been identified before the signing of the report. —VAL/VBL/KG, GMA Integrated News