NAVOTAS Representative Toby Tiangco thanked the House Committee on Appropriations for heeding his call to abolish the practice of creating a small committee to handle amendments to the proposed national budget.
“Nagpapasalamat tayo dahil nakinig ang House Committee on Appropriations sa matagal na nating sinasabi. Hindi talaga transparent ang paggawa ng small committee, kaya dapat lang itong buwagin,” Tiangco said.
The fact that they agreed to abolish the small committee proves that I was correct and that may problema talaga sa sikretong usapan ng apat na tao na bumubuo nito,” he added.
However, Tiangco emphasized that the removal of the small committee is just the first step toward promoting transparency in budget deliberations.
He urged the House Committee on Appropriations to commit that all individual amendments be done in open plenary sessions.
“It is not enough that there is a subcommittee on budget amendments review. As I’ve said, just like any law, ALL individual amendments must be discussed in plenary before the approval of the House General Appropriations Bill on second reading. Dapat mag-commit sila na lahat ng individual amendments ay gagawin sa plenaryo para talagang kita ng lahat kung ano ang mga pagbabago sa proposed budget,” he said.
“Hindi na uubra yung excuse na sobrang dami ng line items. Kung marami talaga, then we must work overtime. If we can do it for all other bills, why can’t we do it for the most important bill we pass each year? Trabaho namin ‘yan. Kahit gaano kahirap, dapat naming gampanan. No ifs and buts,” he added.
He also reiterated that no changes to the proposed budget should be made after the bill is approved for second reading.
“Under Section 56 and 57 of the House rules, committee and individual amendments must be completed before a bill is approved on second reading. Ibig sabihin, no changes should be made after second reading to ensure transparency and accountability in the budget process,” he said.
Tiangco also challenged the House Committee on Appropriations to publicize the amendments made by the small committee for the 2025 budget, if it is truly sincere in its commitment to transparency and accountability.
“Now, to show good faith, ipalabas nila kay Cong. Zaldy Co, who was the Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations at that time, yong amendments done by the small committee for the 2025 budget. Kung hindi nila ilalabas ‘yan, lokohan lang ito. We cannot move forward and simply forget the wrongdoings of the past. We have to uncover the sins of the 2025 budget,” he said.
“Kung gusto nila ng imbestigasyon sa kalokohan sa Flood Control Projects, dito dapat magsimula sa pagtingin ng amendments na ginawa ng small committee for the 2025 Budget. Otherwise, this announcement is just a cover-up for what could be the most corrupt budget in history.”
“Hindi ba obvious na kami ‘yung sinabihan ng ‘mahiya kayo’? Kaya nga ako ang unang nag-standing ovation dahil alam kong kami ‘yon, and finally, those responsible would be held accountable,” he added.
Last year, the House of Representatives formed a small committee of 4 persons led by then then House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Zaldy Co (Ako Bicol Party-list) to decide on the “supposed” individual amendments to the proposed FY 2025 General Appropriations Act.
