MANILA, Philippines — Leaders of the House of Representatives have turned down proposals to send the proposed 2027 national budget back to the chamber for a fresh review, despite public scrutiny over disputed allocations and constitutional concerns.
Antipolo City 1st District Representative Ronaldo “Ronnie” Puno dismissed critics questioning the House-approved spending plan, explaining that the legislature acts on submissions from executive agencies rather than authoring the budget from scratch.
“Congress does not create the budget. We are just reviewing what is submitted to us. All those things are submitted by the agencies,” Puno stated.
“Sana maging seryoso sila sa mga banat nila. It just portray ignorance pagka-ganun,” he added.
The pushback follows concerns raised by the People’s Budget Coalition, which flagged suspicious budget entries—including farm-to-market road projects allegedly mapped over ocean waters.
Bataan 2nd District Representative Albert Garcia, senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, challenged critics to submit a detailed inventory of the questionable items so that lawmakers could take corrective action.
“If they can give the listahan ng specific projects, we can validate and rectify accordingly para mabago yung mga mali,” Garcia said.
Garcia noted that the spending bill still faces scrutiny through the upcoming bicameral conference committee once the Senate finalizes its version.
Meanwhile, House members cautioned that recalling the measure would trigger legislative delays that could derail economic momentum.
“Delay in the passage of the budget might result in lowering of our GDP. It will not produce much-needed jobs for our people,” Garcia warned.
Lawmakers also noted that returning the bill would leave inadequate time for revisions ahead of the congressional recess and the mandatory presidential enactment before the close of the year.