Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri has challenged members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives to identify lawmakers allegedly behind questionable insertions in the 2025 national budget.
Zubiri, who previously served as Senate President, said records should be available with the appropriations panels of both chambers that handled the budget deliberations.
Former Senator Grace Poe chaired the Senate Committee on Finance during the drafting of the 2025 budget, while Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co—now linked to alleged anomalous flood control projects through Sunwest Inc.—led the House appropriations panel.
“(L)et’s release the names of all the proponents of these insertions during the bicam. Imposibleng walang sponsor niyan sa small bicam where a lot of the amendments were done… The chairpersons at that time have that list,” Zubiri said in a Viber message to reporters.
Like his ally, Senator Tito Sotto, Zubiri insisted that he never interfered in the budget process during his time as Senate President.
“Never as SP (Senate president) did I meddle with any list or request from any member of the Senate,” he stressed.
He added that accountability lies with the appropriations committees, since all institutional and local funding requests were coursed through their chairpersons.
The issue over budget transparency comes after Senator Erwin Tulfo flagged “duplicating items” in the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), while Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson cited about ₱51.82 billion in vague allocations in the agency’s spending plan.