Former Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo believes Congress should lose its access to public funds, as it is the root of corruption. He explained that Congress’s extensive control over the budget creates opportunities for anomalies.
“The source of corruption is the access of Congress members to money. This should be removed. The executive branch should solely manage the budget, with no funds allocated to Congress members in any form to avoid problems,” he said.
In a media interview last September, Vice President Sara Duterte accused House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former House Appropriations Committee Chairman Zaldy Co of controlling the national budget. She also claimed that some lawmakers demanded a share of the ₱5 billion classroom budget for 2023.
“The national budget is controlled by just two people—Congressman Zaldy Co and Congressman Martin Romualdez. That’s the truth,” said Duterte.
The controversial 2025 national budget, amounting to ₱6.3 trillion, has drawn criticism from various sectors.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao Representative Isidro Ungab were among the latest to criticize it. Duterte called for the budget to be recalled and warned that he might urge Filipinos to stop paying taxes unless it is corrected.
However, Senator Risa Hontiveros suggested that former President Duterte might have been misinformed by fake news. She said she does not believe his claim that the General Appropriations Act of 2025 contained blank items.
Hontiveros explained that as a member of the bicameral conference committee for the budget, she noticed questionable allocations, such as reduced funds for PhilHealth and the 4Ps program, which led her not to sign the committee report.
Additionally, Hontiveros and Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel voted against ratifying the bicameral report due to questionable provisions, particularly in the education budget. Despite this, Hontiveros does not believe that the proposal included blank items when it was passed.