House Speaker Martin Romualdez delivers a message as the House of Representatives begins plenary deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget on Sept. 16, 2024. Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — House Speaker Martin Romualdez slammed on Monday critics, who he said speak of accountability, but “ignore” their own “misuse of public funds”.

He did not name these critics, but said they cannot point fingers, when they are the ones at fault.

The House of Representatives will not tolerate “hypocrisy” and will demand “accountability” in the utilization of public funds, Romualdez stressed in a message he delivered to the lower chamber as it begins deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget.

“Every peso we allocate in this budget carries with it the sweat and sacrifice of millions of Filipinos, and it is our duty to ensure that these resources are spent wisely, effectively, and with absolute accountability,” the House Speaker said.

“We cannot ignore the reality that there are those who seek to undermine our work — critics, who speak of accountability while conveniently ignoring their own misuse of public funds. To these individuals, I say: let us be clear — this chamber will not tolerate hypocrisy nor will it stand idle in the face of such blatant disregard for public trust,” he added.

He said that the House will make sure that budget deliberations will follow procedure and that nobody is exempt from being held accountable for public funds.

Romualdez, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s cousin and president of the ruling Lakas-CMD party, said the House of Representatives favors no one and does not bend to pressure or special interests. 

“Instead, we remain vigilant in upholding the principles of good governance and fiscal responsibility. The eyes of the nation are on us, and we will not fail them,” he said.

READ: House 'meddling' with DepEd budget among reasons for resignation — VP Duterte

A SWIPE AT THE VP?

Last week, Vice President Sara Duterte released videos where she alleged that the national government budget is controlled by only two people: House Speaker Romualdez and House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Elizaldy Co of Ako Bicol party-list.

The budget bill is based on a national spending plan proposed by the Department of Budget and Management and has to go through committee and plenary deliberations at the House and Senate for approval on third and final reading.

That bill is then sent to the President for his signature.

Duterte also said the House panel’s hearing on the Office of the Vice President’s budget was “scripted” to make her look bad.

Co and other House leaders have denied Duterte’s claims, saying the Vice President was skirting questions on how she used confidential funds in the 2022 budget. 

The Commission on Audit has disallowed the use of P73 million of the P125 million in confidential funds allocated to the OVP.

The post-audit process is ongoing and the OVP said it is working with COA to address issues raised.

2025 budget, questions on the issue mostly received this response from Duterte: “We have submitted our responses and we assure full cooperation with the ongoing and unfinished audit.” 

The OVP then skipped the second round of House panel deliberations.

READ: House panel defers approval of OVP's 2025 budget anew

The House Committee on Appropriations has recommended slashing more than half of the proposed P2.037 billion budget of the OVP for next year, to just P733.198 million.

It has also  proposed to realign the P1.29 billion from the proposed OVP budget  to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation and the Department of Health’s Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients Program.

This was prompted by the panel’s view that the OVP’s assistance programs are “redundant” with those implemented by other government agencies, the low budget utilization for certain programs, and the Commission on Audit’s observation regarding issues in the implementation of OVP’s programs.

The panel will meet on Sept. 23 to discuss the recommended realignments in the OVP's budget.

The House Speaker on Monday urged the members of the lower chamber to “work with confidence and urgency,” as it targets to pass on third and final reading the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025 by September 25. 

“As we proceed with these deliberations, let us work with confidence and urgency. We have a duty to pass the 2025 general appropriations bill swiftly, and to do so with integrity, ensuring that the nation’s goals are met and that every Filipino benefits from the fruits of our labor,” Romualdez said.

Under the proposed 2025 budget, significant resources are allocated to the education sector (P977.6 billion), public works and highways sector (P900 billion), health sector (297.6 billion), and to the sectors of defense (P256.1 billion) and social welfare (P230.1 billion). 

In his sponsorship speech for House Bill 10800 or the 2025 General Appropriations Bill, Co said that sustained investments in education, healthcare, job creation and social protection are necessary to achieve the government’s target of reducing poverty rate in the country to single digit by 2028.

“The goal of reducing poverty to a single-digit 9 percent by 2028 remains a formidable challenge. Achieving this requires sustained investments in education, healthcare, job creation, and social protection,” he said.

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