The bicam report on the 2025 budget that reportedly contained blank appropriations and was signed by the bicameral conference committee members looks like a repeat of the 2019 General Appropriations Act, when former President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed P95.3 billion upon the then Sotto-led Senate’s strong representation after we discovered anomalous entries in the printed Enrolled Bill that were not reflected in our ratified bicam report.
But the big difference now is, it seems nobody among the present senators dared – or cared – to scrutinize the budget documents. Hence, this controversy now brewing.
The Filipino taxpayers deserve an explanation. An examination of the Enrolled Bill printed by the House of Representatives and comparing it with the Ratified Bicam report will expose those responsible.
Unless we examine the Enrolled Bill that Congress transmitted to Malacañang, we can’t determine yet who filled in those blanks – House of Representatives, or Malacañang. A bicam report cannot be amended; it is only subject to being ratified or rejected by either or both houses.
If the Enrolled Bill is different from the ratified bicam report, the HoR being in charge of the printing should explain, as in the case of the heavily vetoed 2019 GAA. If the Enrolled Bill still contained the blank spaces, the burden shifts to the executive branch, particularly the Department of Budget and Management.
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