Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte strongly opposed the ratified 2026 national budget, branding it a mere repeat of last year’s spending plan and raising concerns over transparency and accountability.
Duterte said he voted against the General Appropriations Bill, arguing it mirrors the same flaws that plagued the 2025 budget.
He criticized what he described as “riddled with unanswered questions, uneven allocations, and questionable insertions,” stressing, “That is not reform. That is repetition.”
The lawmaker questioned how public trust can be restored if Congress continues to approve recycled practices.
“How can we restore the people’s trust if we repeat the same circus that was done in the last 2025 budget? Ganun na lang ba ka baba ang tingin natin sa pag unawa ng mga Pilipino? Wala na ba kayong kabusugan? Kung hindi kayo marunong mahiya, sana naman marunong tayong maawa sa taumbayan,” he said.
Duterte added he refuses to legitimize a system that treats public funds loosely.
“I will not legitimize a system that treats public funds as an open jar,” he declared, noting that accountability must precede reform.
He also pointed out that no one has been held criminally liable over alleged irregularities in the 2025 budget.
“The mastermind behind the corruption of the 2025 budget has not even been jailed yet — yet here we are again, with a new budget in 2026 ready to be plundered,” Duterte said.
Invoking a metaphor, he likened the process to a free-for-all inside the House: “This jar would be filled with cookies, but no one in this House has any self-control.”
Duterte emphasized his vote was not against development but for “transparency, fairness, and responsibility.”