The Senate Committee on Finance will maintain a strict division between its review of the proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 and the active impeachment trial involving Vice President Sara Duterte.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito, who heads the finance panel, confirmed during a radio interview that lawmakers will adhere to Rule 18 of the Senate Rules of Impeachment. The sub judice provision limits public statements regarding the merits of an active impeachment case.
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, acting as the presiding officer of the impeachment court, recently affirmed that this restriction binds Duterte, her legal team, House prosecutors, and senator-judges alike.
Ejercito stressed that the budget process will not serve as a venue to probe evidence or factual claims central to the trial:
“The impeachment trial is ongoing so we need to respect the sub judice rule, especially with the recent ruling of the Presiding Officer of the Impeachment Court,” Ejercito said.
“We need to respect the sub judice rule. We will not use the budget hearings to discuss the factual issues and evidences that are part of the impeachment case. I’m sorry, but our Presiding Officer made a ruling recently and we have to respect that,” he added.
Addressing questions on whether the committee should await final rulings from the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under Duterte’s former leadership, Ejercito signaled a shift toward future policy reforms over past disputes.
The committee chair emphasized strengthening safeguards around confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs):
“What’s important now, is not just to revisit the issues that happened in the past. But we also have to ask now, how do we safeguard the funds? How can we make sure that every confidential fund is properly authorized, properly used and properly accounted for?” Ejercito noted.
Under his policy direction, Ejercito plans to restrict CIF allocations exclusively to offices tied directly to law enforcement, national security, and intelligence gathering:
“In order to eliminate the controversy, as chairman of finance, this is what my policy will be: It (CIFs) will be limited to agencies with mandate or law enforcement, intelligence, and national security,” he stated.
While recognizing the operational necessity of secrecy for state security, Ejercito reiterated that financial oversight remains mandatory:
“While we respect the need for confidentiality where national security and legitimate operations are concerned, it is part of the duty of government to protect the public from any security risk,” Ejercito said.
“A confidential fund does not imply a lack of accountability. Just because a fund is classified as confidential does not mean it is exempt from accountability,” he explained.
“We must, therefore, strike a balance between the two—security and accountability, or the responsible use of these funds. We need to find that balance,” he concluded.