MANILA, Philippines – Legal at maaaring ipatupad ang panukalang P6.325 trilyong badyet para sa 2025 sa kabila ng mga correction at adjuted entries sa Bicameral Conference Report, sinabi ni acting House appropriations panel chairperson Stella Quimbo nitong Lunes, Enero 27.
Nag-isyu si Quimbo ng pahayag para sang-ayunan ang mga naunang pahayag nina Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman at Senate President Francis Escudero.
Ang mga opisyal na ito ay naglabas ng pahayag kasunod ng alegasyon ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte at ka-alyado nito na pumirma ang Pangulo ang depektibong budget bill para sa 2025 dahil ito ay batay sa Bicameral Conference Report na naglalaman ng blank items.
“The Bicameral Report explicitly authorized the technical secretariats of both the Senate and the House of Representatives to implement corrections and adjustments as required. These do not affect the integrity nor the legality of the budget,” ani Quimbo.
“The 2025 General Appropriations Act is lawful, valid, and fully enforceable. The enrolled General Appropriations Bill [which the President signed into law] is complete, with no blank allocations among its more than 235,000 line items,” dagdag pa niya.
Nang pumirma sa report ang mga miyembro ng Bicameral Committee kasama siya, sinabi ni Quimbo na ang lahat ng appropriations ay natukoy na at naaprubahan.
Nangangahulugan ito na wala nang mga pagbabagong ginawa rito.
“The enrolled General Appropriations Bill has been made publicly available, providing the best evidence of its completeness and compliance with due process. Makikita po ng lahat ito. Walang tinatago,” sinabi ni Quimbo.
“Any suggestion of impropriety is unfounded and appears to be politically motivated rather than prompted by genuinely substantive concerns. It is unfortunate that an administrative matter is being maliciously misconstrued to create controversy where there is none,” dagdag pa niya.
Bilang pagtatapos, sinabi ng mambabatas na ang naturang usapin ay dapat na matapos na.
“This matter has been sufficiently explained, and at a time when we face far real and urgent national challenges, it would be more productive to focus our efforts on addressing the legitimately pressing needs of our people.” RNT/JGC