ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Double betrayal': Gutierrez hits Escudero over P142-B budget 'insertions'

'Double betrayal': Gutierrez hits Escudero over P142-B budget 'insertions'

Published Jul 24, 2025 09:57 am
Former vice presidential spokesman Barry Gutierrez has strongly condemned Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero for the alleged P142.7-billion worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget.

(From left) Senate President Chiz Escudero and former vice presidential spokesman Barry Gutierrez (Senate, OVP photos)
(From left) Senate President Chiz Escudero and former vice presidential spokesman Barry Gutierrez (Senate, OVP photos)
In a statement, the former lawmaker and spokesman of ex-vice president and now Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo hit Escudero for supposedly manipulating the budget to benefit political allies and secure his position as the Senate leader.

“So bukod sa pagbaluktot sa Saligang Batas, pati pala budget binaluktot para makinabang ang mga ka-tropa (So aside from breaching the Constitution, even the budget has been distorted to benefit his allies),” Gutierrez, a lawyer, said. “Eto ba talaga ang ibobotong Senate President ulit (Is he going to be voted Senate president once again)?”

Media reports showed that the Senate President inserted P142.7 billion in 6.3-trillion national budget, with infrastructure taking the lion’s share. Topping the list are road projects, which command nearly P52.7 billion in allocations.

Major beneficiaries are supposedly Bulacan, the stronghold of Senator Joel Villanueva, Escudero’s ally, as well as his hometown of Sorsogon.

Infrastructure and flood control projects, which will supposedly be funded by the insertion, raised red flags because of overlapping roadworks and questionable flood mitigation efforts.

“Ito po ay hindi lang simpleng paglalagay ng pondo. Isa itong malinaw na indikasyon ng paggamit ng kaban ng bayan bilang personal na sandata sa politika. Kung hindi ito suhol para manatili sa pwesto, e ano (This is not simply an allocation of funds. It is a clear indication of the use of government funds as a political weapon. If this is not a bribe to remain in his post, then what is it)?,” Gutierrez added.

He also admonished the Senate President for delaying the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, lamenting it and the budget insertion as a “double betrayal” of the Constitution and the people.

“Una, ginamit ang posisyon para harangin ang impeachment. Tapos ngayon, ginagamit ang budget para suyuin ang mga kaalyado sa Senado. Parang sinuhulan mo na, sinagasaan mo pa ang proseso para protektahan ang isang opisyal na dapat iniimbestigahan (First he used his position to block the impeachment. Now he is using the budget to woo his allies in the Senate. It’s like you did not only bribe but also trampled on the process to protect an official who should be investigated),” he stressed.

Related Tags

Barry Gutierrez Chiz Escudero 2025 budget budget insertions
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.