End legislative sleaze

It may take Ombudsman Samuel Martires to turn the tables on the manipulation of the 2025 national budget to make way for pork barrel projects, which is the source of huge kickbacks and commissions.

The complaint filed with the Ombudsman by Representative Isidro Ungab, former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio was lobbed at the festering corruption of the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) in the yearly budget process.

The scandalous farce that was the discovery of “blank items” in the Bicam report, which were subsequently mysteriously filled in with P241 billion worth of pet projects, violated a provision in the 2013 Supreme Court decision outlawing the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

The PDAF allowed legislators to identify specific projects after the national budget was enacted, effectively giving members of Congress control of the funds.

The SC ruled the practice violated Article VI, Section 25(1) of the Constitution which states: “Congress may not increase the appropriations recommended by the President… except as herein provided;” and Section 29(1): “No money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.”

In sum, the post-enactment discretion usurped the Executive’s implementation role.

The discovery of the blank items was likened to a heist in broad daylight, with the Bicam the getaway car.

The Ombudsman’s process typically starts with a preliminary investigation before public statements are issued, and Martires, known for his reserved approach, has not commented supposedly until the investigation progresses.

Topacio said the investigative powers of the Ombudsman can uncover the ringmasters and the disciples in the irregularity.

The Supreme Court, handling a related petition of Ungab and company challenging the 2025 GAA’s constitutionality, ordered Congress and the Executive to comment by mid-February.

The petition filed with the Ombudsman sought the preventive suspension of House leaders and unnamed accomplices while the complaint alleging 12 counts each of falsification and graft is being resolved.

According to the complaint, a Bicam report riddled with 12 blank line items, approved as zeros, somehow ballooned to P241 billion by the time the enrolled bill hit Malacañang.

The complaint alleged a violation of Article 170 of the Revised Penal Code, a blatant falsification of legislative documents, and a textbook abuse of power under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Bicam, in essence, rewrote and stuffed the budget with projects that never saw a legislative vote.

Ungab first flagged the blanks last January in a podcast with former President Rodrigo Duterte, posting screenshots of a Bicam report that showed zeroed-out allocations for agencies like the Department of Agriculture.

After a long period of denials and accusations of political motivations, acting House Appropriations Committee chairperson Stella Quimbo herself admitted the blanks existed but claimed they were “ministerial” fixes.

Topacio made a point that cut deep into the racket: if the Bicam signed off on a zero, it should’ve stayed a zero — not morphed into billions overnight. Alvarez said the P241 billion wasn’t a typographical error that could be fixed with a calculator but a huge sum that will be drawn from public money smuggled into the GAA behind closed doors.

The Ombudsman complaint alleged a crime had been committed as a result of the Bicam’s unchecked authority.

It’s the Filipinos who will pay the price.

While the Bicam wove its magic, funding for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. was slashed by P74 billion, leaving healthcare in tatters, and vague “ayuda” programs were fattened with cash, for use during the election period as handouts.

No transparency, no accountability — just a clique of power brokers scribbling zeroes into jackpots while the public starves for answers.

The Bicam’s power to rewrite the budget post-ratification isn’t a perk — it’s a loophole that should be removed.

The hideous legislative body should be reined in or the Bicam will rob the nation blind every year.