Ben Madilynn
ACTING House appropriations panel chairperson Stella Quimbo maintained on Monday, January 27, 2025, that the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which contains the proposed P6.325 trillion budget for the year, is “lawful, valid, and fully enforceable.”
In a statement, Quimbo stressed that the enrolled General Appropriations Bill is complete, with no blank allocations among its more than 235,000 line items. He also pointed out that the Bicameral Report explicitly authorized the technical secretariats of both the Senate and the House of Representatives to implement any necessary corrections and adjustments.
“These do not affect the integrity nor the legality of the budget. When the members of the Bicameral Committee signed the report, all appropriations had already been determined and approved — no changes were made,” Quimbo said.
“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,” she added.
Quimbo said criticisms of the 2025 budget are unfounded and 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. 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,” said Quimbo.
Earlier, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City Third District Representative Isidro Ungab revealed discrepancies in the Bicameral Conference Committee report, particularly the blanks in sections related to the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and unprogrammed appropriations, including amounts reaching billions of pesos.
The bicameral report was ratified on December 11, 2024, and approved by both chambers of Congress.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called Duterte’s allegations “lies,” saying that such discrepancies could not occur in the GAA.
Earlier, Marcos vowed to lead meetings to review the 2025 budget and identify gaps in the appropriations of offices within the executive branch. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
