2025 budget mess: Romualdez, House leaders accused of falsifying documents

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House Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe denies allegations of irregularities in the 2025 budget, and accuses Duterte allies of having political motivations for filing the case before the Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines – Former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez led a group of complainants in accusing Speaker Martin Romualdez and other congressional leaders of falsifying legislative documents, in relation to the brouhaha over the 2025 budget.

The complaint, filed with the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday, February 10, stemmed from the blank spaces discovered in the approved bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions in the budget bills passed by both House and the Senate.

The enrolled copy of the budget sent to the President’s office after the ratification of the bicameral report no longer contained these blanks, raising questions on when in the budget process were the amounts inserted.

Alvarez’s group said the blanks that were later filled in involved P241 billion.

“How is this even possible? The answer is simple: the P241 billion insert was successfully included in the GAA through the commission of a crime called falsification of legal documents under Article 170 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended,” the document read.

Acting House appropriations chairperson Stella Quimbo had argued that technical staff were authorized to “implement corrections and adjustments” in the bicameral report after lawmakers signed the document.

But Alvarez’s group said the amount supposedly inserted was not a “petty or frivolous” concern for it to be reduced to a mere correction.

“Anyone who claims that a P241-billion insertion is just a typographical, grammatical, or a printing error, marks himself (or herself) a very special place in Philippine history as a national source of: shame,” the document read.

Other complainants are singer and senatorial aspirant Jimmy Bondoc, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, Citizen’s Crime Watch president Diego Magpantay, and and lawyer and Quezon City congressional aspirant Virgilio Garcia.

Aside from Romualdez, other respondents named in the complaint are Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe, then-appropriations committee chairperson Zaldy Co, and his successor Quimbo.

In a statement, Dalipe disputed allegations of irregularities.

“Passing the national budget is not a crime; it is a fundamental responsibility of Congress (House and Senate). Any attempt to portray it otherwise is a clear distortion of facts and an attack on the legislative process itself. Instead of engaging in political distractions, we must focus on ensuring that the 2025 budget is fair, responsive, and effectively serves the needs of the Filipino people,” Dalipe said.

He also accused the complainants — all allies of former president Rodrigo Duterte — of having political motivations for filing the case.

“[Alvarez’s] silence during the legislative process, and his sudden emergence as a complainant, only reinforces the fact that these accusations are not grounded on actual violations but are politically motivated attacks meant to discredit the House leadership,” Dalipe said.

“It is also worth noting that these accusations come at a time when the House is taking a firm stand on accountability, particularly in addressing serious questions surrounding certain budgetary allocations,” he added.

The complaint by Alvarez’s group was filed only days after the House made the historic move of impeaching Vice President Sara Duterte. – Rappler.com