House panel: 'Blank' items in 2025 budget just typos

MANILA, Philippines — The House appropriations panel has acknowledged the alleged blank line items in its bicameral conference committee report on the 2025 national budget, calling some “typographical errors.”

Rep. Stella Quimbo (Marikina, 2nd District), acting chair of the committee, confirmed the existence of blanks in the bicam report during an ambush interview on Monday, January 27. 

She explained that these are simply “typographical errors,” which are corrected by authorized technical staff from both chambers of Congress. Senate President Francisco “Chiz” Escudero had previously clarified this, referencing the Omnibus motion of the bicam report.

“Yes, so notwithstanding any typographical errors or any adjustments that are needed as a result of amendments, the technical staff of both House and Senate are authorized to make all of these necessary corrections,” Quimbo said in a mix of English and Filipino. 

If there are any discrepancies between the bicam report and the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), Quimbo pointed out, a provision in the Omnibus motion specifies that the printed version “will prevail.”

Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan Party-list), however, previously said that the bicam report serves as the basis for the enrolled bill, which is later reviewed by the president for signing or veto. 

This, he argued, means there should be no issues in the bicam report when presented to Congress for ratification.

RELATED: House budget panel remains silent on alleged 'blank' entries in 2025 budget

Quimbo also emphasized that when the bicam committee signed the report, “all appropriations amounts had already been decided.” 

She described the corrections as “ministerial” in nature, noting that they are merely a “calculator activity” without discretion to alter the approved budget line items.

“These corrections do not affect the integrity or legality of the budget,” she added, addressing public concerns about the constitutionality of the 2025 national budget.

Asked how long this practice of staff making amendments has been in place, Quimbo explained that the omnibus motion is included in the bicam report for the annual budget every year.

‘Politically-motivated’ controversy

The lawmaker expressed frustration over the suspicion of dishonesty in the crafting of the 2025 budget, calling the claims “unfounded” and “politically motivated.”

“It is unfortunate that an administrative matter is being maliciously misconstrued to create controversy where there is none,” she said. 

Rep. Isidro Ungab (Davao City, 3rd District) and former President Rodrigo Duterte questioned the said blank line items, implying that they were present in the signed budget by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Quimbo urged the public in a statement to focus on addressing legitimate issues, rather than continuing to speculate over baseless claims.

“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,” she said. 

The 2025 General Appropriations Act, which was set at P6.326 trillion after Marcos’ line-item veto, has been under scrutiny for several issues. 

Among the concerns is the budget for the education sector, which faced cuts, while infrastructure funding saw significant increases. 

Another issue involves the absence of government subsidies for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the alleged “pork” allocations in “ayuda” programs, such as the Ayuda sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP).