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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Escudero told: Stop raising eyebrows, start answering budget issue

Escudero told: Stop raising eyebrows, start answering budget issue

Published Jul 29, 2025 11:43 pm

At A Glance

  • Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero should just respond to the issue of alleged budget "insertions" instead of blaming the House of Representatives for the controversy.
House Spokesperson Princess Abante (left), Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero (PPAB, Facebook)
House Spokesperson Princess Abante (left), Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero (PPAB, Facebook)


Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero should just respond to the issue of alleged budget "insertions" instead of blaming the House of Representatives for the controversy.
Thus, said House Spokesperson Princess Abante as she responded to the Senate leader's accusation against the lower chamber on Tuesday, July 29.
“Bakit kami? Bakit kami ang may kasalanan? (Why? Why are we at fault?)” Abante said when asked to react to Escudero’s claim that the demolition job against him originated from the House.
“Ang tanong naman po ay … kay Senate President Chiz, bakit po sa amin ibinabato ang tanong? Bakit pag may mga criticism sa kanya ay tinataasan niya ng kilay ang House of Representatives?” Abante said.
(The question is...for Senate President Chiz, why are to shifting the question to us? Why does he raise eyebrows at the House of Representatives whenever there are criticisms against him?)
“Siguro mas mainam na sagutin na lang po ‘yung tanong (Perhaps it's better for him to just answer the question)," reckoned the House official.
The lawyer-spokesperson was referring to the alleged P150 billion in budget amendments or insertions that was being linked to Escudero.
Abante also clarified that she had no knowledge about the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage being referenced in reports, which allegedly showed Escudero entering the House of Representatives at night in late November 2024, at the height of the Bicameral Conference Committee deliberations on the 2025 national budget.
“Ako personally, hindi ko alam ‘yung tungkol doon sa CCTV [footage] (Me, personally, I don't know anything about the CCTV footage). I’m not part of the House at that time,” Abante said.
“Siguro ang tanong, bakit nga nandidito eh kung tungkol yan sa bicam (Perhaps the question is, why was he here if it was about the bicam),” she said.
The bicam meetings on the budget is essentially the final stage of deliberations before the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget is approved by Congress. It is attended by lawmakers from both the House and the Senate.
Abante said that House Speaker Martin Romualdez does not interfere on the bicam hearings on the budget.
But in the interest of transparency, Romualdez is making an aggressive push to open the traditionally closed-door bicam hearings to the public.
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