PALAWAN 2nd District Representative and Bicameral Conference Committee member Jose C. Alvarez on Wednesday rejected claims that the House of Representatives’ budget is being misused or lacks transparency, saying the checks posted by Leandro Leviste on his Facebook page reflect standard, lawful disbursements provided to all legislators—not Christmas bonuses.
Alvarez explained that every member of Congress receives compensation and maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) to fund the day-to-day operations of their district offices, including staff salaries, utilities, and basic services to constituents. He stressed that portraying these routine operational expenses as suspicious “bonuses” is misleading and inaccurate.
“There is nothing irregular about the checks issued to Rep. Leviste. They aren’t Christmas bonuses as he alleges,” Alvarez said.
“These are lawful, audited, and well-documented disbursements that every member of the House receives to cover the salaries of legislators and to ensure their district offices can function properly and deliver services on the ground.”
Alvarez also clarified that contrary to claims of a budget hike, the House of Representatives’ budget for 2026 is significantly lower than in the previous year.
“In 2025, the House had a budget of ₱33.7 billion. For 2026, this was reduced to ₱27.7 billion,” Alvarez said. “That alone should already put to rest claims that the House increased its own budget.”
He added that the supposed ₱10-billion “increase” being cited is not an increase at all, but merely the difference between the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and the final General Appropriations Act (GAA), after Congress exercised its constitutional power of the purse.
As a member of the bicameral conference committee, Alvarez emphasized that the House budget undergoes the same level of scrutiny as all other government agencies, including committee hearings, plenary debates, Commission on Audit review, and public disclosure.
“The House has nothing to hide. This is the most open budget in history. The whole process was live-streamed, and the budget remains open, documented, and subject to audit. Claims of misuse should be backed by facts, not baseless speculation.”
