lucky sprite Escudero: ‘No blank items on 2025 national budget I signed’
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Francis Escudero maintained on Wednesday that the bicameral conference committee report on the national budget for 2025 that he signed had no blank items.
Speaking to reporters in a press conference, Escudero said Rep. Isidro Ungab should have known better since he served as a former chair of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations, making him fully aware of the budget processes.
The government aims to attain an “A” credit rating by the end of the Marcos administration in 2028. To achieve this rating, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has advised that the government should prioritize macroeconomic stability, fiscal sustainability, and good governance.
Total industrial output exceeded expectations to rise by 0.8 percent last month from a revised 0.9 decline in July, the US central bank said in a statement, pinning much of the rise on “a recovery in the index of motor vehicles and parts.”
“I don’t understand the complaint, he used to be the chairman of the appropriations panel, he knows the policy and he knows the budget process. There are other lawyers who are complaining about this but this is what I know, there is no bicameral conference committee report that was declared unconstitutional. No committee report has been declared unconstitutional. In fact, no one has ever been sued in Court to declare a committee report or bicameral conference committee report unconstitutional. What can be declared unconstitutional is a law,” said Escudero.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: Marcos slams Duterte ‘lies’ on items in budget law
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO 2 killed, 6 wounded in Basilan clash NEWSINFO DepEd eyes enforcement of reduced Senior High School subjects in 2025 NEWSINFO Isko Moreno backs review of ‘outdated’ Manila health certificate ordinanceIn the same presser, the Senate chief was pressed to disclose whether or not the bicameral conference committee report he signed has blank items, to which he answered none.
He likewise noted that he does not know about the circulating copy of a bicam report for the 2025 national funding supposedly showing blank items.
Article continues after this advertisement“I don’t know. I’ll repeat, he’s the one who released it, he’s the one who explained it. Honestly, I don’t know what he’s saying and implying, but I’ll repeat, whatever committee report he’s presenting or the alleged bicameral conference committee report, it’s just what was forwarded to me by one of our colleagues in the media–I don’t see my signature on it so I don’t know what it is,” said Escudero.
Article continues after this advertisementHe also explained that if there are differences between the bicameral conference committee report and the General Appropriations Act (GAA), then it is the latter that will be used and followed.
Article continues after this advertisement“What will be followed is the GAA. The GAA’s enrolled bill,” said Escudero.
“The signed version of the law by the President, the leader of the House and Senate and the Secretary General of both Houses. That is what will govern. Now if there is anything missing, it is only right that it be questioned or if something is released because it is fill in the blanks afterwards, it is only right not to release it and not to allow it to be released but not on any basis in a committee report like I said,” he emphasized.
Article continues after this advertisementBut what was the intent of alleging such? Escudero believes that the approaching elections might have contributed to this.
crystal slots“The political color is very bright right now and maybe in the coming days, let’s not be surprised by more stories, attacks or criticisms like this because it seems they have already drawn a line in the sand as to who is on the left, who is on the right, who is on the red and who is on the white,” said Escudero.
President Marcos himself already belied the allegations surrounding the 2025 budget. Apart from Ungab, former President Rodrigo Duterte likewise alleged that there were blank items in the 2025 budget bill.
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“He’s lying. He’s a [former] President, he knows that you cannot pass a GAA with a blanklucky sprite,” Marcos told reporters then.
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