MANILA, Philippines — The House Committee on Appropriations on Monday, September 9 approved the motion to terminate panel deliberations for the Office of the President’s (OP) proposed 2025 budget due to “parliamentary courtesy" within at least 20 minutes.
Three minority lawmakers voted against the motion, saying the committee is showing “double standards” after it failed to scrutinize the president's budget and expenditure at all, unlike the Office of the Vice President's (OVP) budget, which was deliberated for nearly 11 hours on August 27.
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In 2023, the committee extended parliamentary courtesy to both the OP and OVP, terminating the budget deliberations on their proposed 2024 budgets.
“Isinalang nga natin ang OVP dito tapos ngayon nagbibigay ng courtesy sa Office of the President? Double standard ito,” Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela Women’s Party) said.
(We subjected the OBP to scrutiny, and now we’re extending courtesy to the Office of the President? This is a double standard.)
Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Party-list) reminded the committee that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself said that all government agencies undergo the same budget hearing process.
Asked about Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim that the House of Representatives is politicizing her office’s budget, Marcos last denied there is politicking.
“It’s a hearing, there’s no politics in it," Marcos said last September 4.
“Kung ganu’n na ite-terminate natin ngayon ang deliberations, we are affirming ang pagiging brat ng vice president,” Manuel said.
(If we terminate the deliberations now, we are affirming the vice president's bratty behavior.)
RELATED: OVP budget hearing descends into chaos as Sara Duterte, House members trade insults
On unprogrammed appropriations
Brosas pointed out that the substantial annual increase in unprogrammed appropriations should also be up for discussion. Under the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the government is requesting for P158.665 billion in unprogrammed appropriations.
For 2024, the approved budget for unprogrammed appropriations is 99.74% higher than the proposed amount in the 2024 NEP, an increase from P281.908 billion to P731.448 billion.
In 2023, the proposed budget for unprogrammed appropriations grew by 37.23%, higher than P588.152 billion to P807.162 billion.
She cited that in just two years under Marcos’ presidency, the amount allocated for unprogrammed appropriations is equivalent to the total unprogrammed appropriations generated over the five years during Duterte’s administration.
Unprogrammed appropriations act as a reserve fund that allows the government to spend extra money on priority programs and projects. These funds can only be released if revenue collection exceeds targets.
While there is a prescribed order of priorities for funding projects with unprogrammed appropriations, Brosas said that the order can be modified according to the 2024 unprogrammed appropriations provision.
“Ibig sabihin, puwedeng unahin pondohan ng makokolekta sa unprogrammed appropriations ang imprastraktura depende kung ano ang sasabihin ng presidente,” she added.
(This means that the funds collected for unprogrammed appropriations can be used first for infrastructure projects, depending on the president’s directives.)
On human rights violations
Meanwhile, regarding the P4.56 billion allocated for confidential and intelligence funds, minority lawmakers also expressed concerns about the human rights violations under the current administration.
Citing data from the human rights organization Karapatan, Manuel said that from June 2022 to July 2024, there have been around 105 victims of extrajudicial killings, 63,000 victims of indiscriminate firing, 44,000 victims of bombings, 42,000 victims of forced evacuations, 145 victims of illegal arrest and detention, 12 victims of enforced disappearances and 3.4 million victims of harassment and threat.
He added that the rate of enforced disappearances is higher than the Duterte administration’s.
The committee said that the minority lawmakers may raise their arguments during the plenary on September 16, where the budget will be deliberated upon for approval.
The OP is requesting a total budget of P10.506 billion for 2025, which is 1.88% lower than its 2024 budget.