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At a Glance
- Ranking solons from the Committee on Appropriations have denied allegations that the House of Representatives has P1.6 billion in confidential funds tucked under the P5.268-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2023.
Marikina City 2nd Rep. Stella Quimbo (left) Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Ranking solons from the Committee on Appropriations have denied allegations that the House of Representatives has P1.6 billion in confidential funds tucked under the P5.268-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2023.
“Squarely, wala pong confidential funds ang Congress (House). Yun pong sinasabing P1.6 billion ay extraordinary expenses,” appropriations panel Senior Vice Chairperson Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo told reporters in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 10.
(Squarely, Congress has no confidential funds. The P1.6 billion that’s being mentioned are extraordinary expenses.)
Quimbo was alluding to somewhat malicious discussions on social media, which have linked P1.6 billion in alleged confidential funds to the House of Representatives.
Although Quimbo noted that confidential, intelligence, and extraordinary funds belong under the same category in the existing national budget, extraordinary funds are very different from confidential and intelligence funds.
“Yung extraordinary po ay fully auditable which is different from confidential at yung Congress ay wala po nung confidential,” said the economist-lawmaker.
(The extraordinary funds, which are fully auditable, are different from confidential funds, which Congress doesn’t have.)
The Marikina solon likened extraordinary expenses to expenses made during calamities. “That’s an example of extraordinary expense,” she said.
Panel Chairman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, who also took part in the presser, interjected: “So in short, that’s [P1.6 billion] fake news.”
“Yes,” Quimbo concurred.
Quimbo, Co, along with House Majority Leader Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe and House Minority Leader 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan comprise the “small committee” on the proposed 2024 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) worth P5.768 trillion. The small panel tackled realignments in the budget measure on Tuesday. — Ellson Quismorio
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
