Straight from horse’s mouth

Straight from horse’s mouth | Daily Tribune

After eluding the burning question about the glaring gaps in the Bicameral Conference Committee, one of those who should be held accountable spoke up and she was spewing alibis.

House Appropriations Panel Acting Chairperson Stella Quimbo acknowledged the presence of blank items in the Bicameral Conference Committee report.

However, she attributed these to typographical errors, clarifying that the funds for the omitted items had already been identified before the bicameral members signed the report.

“Notwithstanding any typographical errors or any adjustments that are needed as a result of amendments, the technical staff of the House of Representatives and the Senate is authorized to make all of these necessary corrections,” she claimed.

Her obvious excuses immediately met responses from seasoned legislators.

Former Senate President Tito Sotto said, “Some of our legislators needed to undergo parliamentary rules and procedures workshop.”

“Ministerial corrections by the technical staff are never allowed in any bill much more a law. You bring it back to the plenary!” he added.

Quimbo’s ramblings reveal her lack of intelligence.

She added, “All of the corrections of the technical staff are ministerial which means that everything done is a ‘calculator activity,’” whatever that means.

Quimbo sounded like she was passing the buck to the subalterns who drafted the Bicameral report, as she guaranteed that they would not have any discretion to change parts of the documents.

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, who exposed the existence of the blank items in the Bicameral report, also refuted Quimbo, “Filling the blanks for 28 blank items in 13 pages, this cannot be considered as typographical, grammatical or printing error authorized under the Bicam omnibus motion.”

He also came to the defense of the technical staff, who Quimbo is using as scapegoat.

“In fairness, the technical staff will only follow the instructions of superior officials like the Bicam chairpersons, members, or their designated representatives. There is no such thing as ministerial corrections because they’re only authorized to correct typographical, grammatical, or printing errors.”

Ungab said the importance of what Quimbo uttered during a television interview was confirming that the Bicam report has missing portions.

“Thank you for confirming that there are indeed blank items in the Bicam report. The next question is, where did the figures in the enrolled bill to fill up the 28 blank items come from? This can never be considered as a typographical, grammatical or printing error,” according to Ungab.

“Why did the Bicam members sign the report despite the glaring blank items? Where did the figures that filled up the blanks in the General Appropriations Act come from?”

Ungab stressed the legislative mill is deemed to end in the ratification of the Bicam report. “After the Bicam report, the work of Congress ends,” he said.

The report becomes the enrolled bill which then goes to the President for his signature.

“Whoever completed the missing items may have or could have usurped the power of Congress,” Ungab surmised had somebody from the Executive filled in the gaps.

The Constitution gave Congress the exclusive authority to appropriate funds.

Ungab pointed out that “you cannot have a basis of a legislation that has blanks in it and the GAA is based on the Bicam report.”

“In my 15 years in Congress, I have not encountered an instance where the bicam report has blank items except now.”

Quimbo miserably failed to give a clear explanation of the defects of the Bicam report which is another compelling reason to bring the validity of the 2025 budget before the Supreme Court.