A deputy speaker has had enough of watching the House of Representatives become the proverbial punching bag over alleged corruption in the national budget.

If anything, Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Rolando "Ronnie" Puno reminded Filipinos on Tuesday, Aug. 12 that crafting the national budget or General Appropriations Bill (GAB) isn't solely the work of House members--the senators dip their hands in it as well.

In a press conference, Puno category said that the House wasn't the one behind the P74-billion realignment of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funds

or the P12- billion cut in the funds of the Department of Education (DepEd) in the current 2025 budget.

The enacted budget is a harmonization of the House and Senate versions of the GAB; and Puno is saying that the House version kept both the PhilHealth and DepEd allocations intact when it sent the GAB measure to the Senate.

“Ang House gumawa ng panukalang budget. Nag-approve ang House of Representatives ng budget. Ngayon sa budget na ‘yun, kung titingnan ninyo, nandyan lang naman, public document, pwede nyo kunin sa secretariat, hindi nawala ‘yung PhilHealth budget. Intact,” Puno said.

(The House created the proposed budget. The House of Representatives approved the budget. Now, in that budget, if you look at it, it's just there, it's a public document, you can get it from the secretariat, the PhilHealth budget wasn’t removed. Intact.)

“Sa version ng House, hindi nabawasan ‘yung [DepEd] budget. Intact. In fact, mataas. Ang nabawasan dito sa House, yung public works budget, okay? Tignan niyo niyan,” he added.

(In the House version, the DepEd budget wasn’t reduced. It’s intact. In fact, it’s higher. What was reduced in the House version was the public works budget, okay? Take a look at it.)

Puno then contrasted the lower chamber’s version with what ultimately became the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2025. He underscored that the disputed movements did not originate on the House but surfaced only after the measure left the chamber and returned as a signed appropriations act.

“Yan ang pinadala sa Senado. Ngayon, ang finally lumabas na GAA, natanggal ‘yung PhilHealth fund. Nabawasan ‘yung [DepEd], nadagdagan ang public works budget,” Puno said, referring to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

(That's what was sent to the Senate. Now, in the final GAA, the PhilHealth fund was removed, the DepEd fund was reduced, and public works budget swelled.)

The National Unity Party (NUP) stalwart expressed exasperation over the months-long attacks and demonization of the House ever since the allocations in 2025 budget underwent greater scrutiny.

“Sino ‘yung bumawas sa [DepEd] budget, sa DepEd? Kasi pag-alis dito sa House nun, kumpleto pa ‘yun. Mataas pa ‘yun. Kami yung nagbawas ng DPWH budget, sino ang nagdagdag ngayon niyan? Alam ko hindi nadagdag yan dito dahil pagdating dun sa Senado, bawas ‘yun,” he reiterated.

(Who reduced the [DepEd] budget, in DepEd? Because when it left the House, it was still complete. It was even higher. We were the ones who reduced the DPWH budget, so who added to it now? I know it wasn’t added here, because when it reached the Senate, it was reduced.)

“Totoo ba yung sinasabi ni Senator [Tito] Sotto na napunta lahat ‘yan sa Senado at sa liderato ng Senado? Gusto rin namin malaman kasi ang House ang sinisisi,” Puno said.

(Is it true what Senator [Tito] Sotto is saying—that all of it went to the Senate and the Senate leadership? We also want to know, because the House is being blamed.)

The House of Representatives--which possesses the power of the purse--will begin discussions on the new budget cycle on Sept. 1.

In recent weeks, the House leadership headed by Speaker Martin Romualdez has championed unprecedented measures to improve transparency on the budget process starting this year.

This includes allowing civil society "watchdogs" to participate in the budget discussions, as well as opening to the public the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings. It is during the bicam meetings that contingents of the House and Senate hammer out a common GAB.

Puno says the immediate task now is to reconstruct how the final text diverged from what the House approved, identify the point at which the movements were made and determine who bears responsibility for relocating funds that the lower chamber says it kept whole in its transmitted version.

“Ngayon, gusto namin malaman, sinong nagpalit nun? Paano nangyari yun? Sino talaga ang nagtanggal? Paano natanggal ‘yung PhilHealth budget? Kasi alam ko, hindi dito sa House of Representatives ‘yun,” he said.

(Now, we want to know, who made the changes? How did that happen? Who really ordered the removal of funds? How was the PhilHealth budget removed? Because as far as I know, that didn't happen here in the House of Representatives.)