A former head of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued a practical challenge to those claiming that the blank items in the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) report are a mere “invention” of the whistleblowers.  

“On the matter of the Bicam report that has 13 pages with 28 blank spaces and was denied by Senate President Chiz Escudero, Senators Riza Hontiveros, Win Gatchalian and Joel Villanueva, this is my challenge to them. Show and present the Bicam report with no blank spaces in the spirit of honesty, transparency and accountability. As simple as that. NOW NA (do it now),” Wendel Avisado said.

All those who read Avisado’s challenge said this is the most sensible proposal to legislators in the heat of the arguments over the blank items.

Initially, the Bicam report with the blanks in it was dismissed as a mere fabrication of Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab who discovered the anomaly. As days passed, more legislators admitted they received a similar copy of the controversial report.

Government officials including Bicam members then ceded that the papers existed.

The senators, however, insisted that the report that they signed was complete.

The attempt to hide the questionable papers has made matters worse as it raised the level of suspicions “on matters that the government should be addressing,” Avisado said.

He added that if the problem is not fully explained, “people will tend to believe that there are irregularities involved.”

Avisado said that since the protagonists are all Filipinos, “we do not need to deceive each other on the budget issue.”

“Most of us are poor and we have to strive to earn a living and yet we can’t put everything in order in government so this question that I hope those in power will find time to explain to the people.”

“My take is that the government must respond if they will not then that will be their lookout,” he explained.

Hopefully, our leaders will be candid enough and tell the truth which will set us free.

“If I’m the technical staff, I would not do anything if I am not told by somebody in a higher position to tamper with the Bicam report,” he explained.

He added that it is the responsibility of the members of the joint body of both chambers of Congress to enlighten the public regarding the incomplete report.

“I am not saying anything about the Bicam members, but I think it behooves them to explain their side because they were the ones who approved and signed the report that was the basis of the enrolled bill which was duly certified as correct by the secretary general of the House of Representatives and the Senate,” Avisado indicated.

“Still and all, the questions persisted that if there are blanks, what led to the items being filled up?” he continued.

If they claim there was an error or forgot to fill the many pages of blanks in it, which is beyond belief, legislators, who have presumably read the report, should have done something about it and prevented the many questions regarding it.

As it turned out, the conflagration spread mainly due to attempts to obfuscate the issue instead of confronting it head-on.

Questions on the blank items and other irregularities have been submitted to the Supreme Court which introduced the risk of the return of the budget to Congress and delaying programs of government.

The main casualty, however, is public confidence in government officials which has been eroded by the hanging issues on the 2025 General Appropriations Act.