A high-ranking congressman is calling for an investigation in aid of legislation into the alleged “funders” or sponsors of anomalous and fictitious construction projects in this year's P6.352-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget.

Filing House Resolution (HR) No. 201 for this purpose was House Deputy Speaker Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno.

"Credible reports and legislative inquiries by the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers ('Blue Ribbon Committee’) have revealed irregularities in public works projects funded in recent budgets, including ‘ghost’ or non-existent projects and signs of collusion among contractors," Puno said in HR No.201.

Puno highlighted Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s privilege speech, which “exposed systemic and institutionalized patterns of impunity in the allocation and release of funds for flood control projects, including the coded ‘distinct’ but identical allocations of seventy seven million, forty eight million, and ninety six million pesos for multiple projects, overinflated costs in Pampanga and La Union, and even the ghost projects in Mindoro and Bulacan, revealing not isolated anomalies but a deeply rooted machinery siphoning off public funds while leaving vulnerable communities unprotected.”

It should be noted that Puno is a man on a mission to exonerate the House of Representatives from what he called unfair allegations of corruption in the budget process.

He chairs the National Unity Party (NUP), one of the biggest and most respected political parties in the country.

Puno also wants the House to look into the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) role in the release and withholding of funds.

In the resolution, Puno further emphasized that the DBM itself had confirmed, during recent budget hearings, that “certain funds, particularly those stemming from congressional insertions in the 2025 [GAA], were intentionally withheld for later release and would only be disbursed upon compliance with specific conditions, effectively confirming that while some funds were released, others were not".

Puno warned that this dual reality of “some funds released, others withheld” heightens the need for transparency.

“When billions are moved in and out of the budget without clarity, accountability collapses and public trust erodes. Ghost projects and coded allocations are not the technical glitches they seem, rather these are clear red flags of corruption that demand immediate scrutiny,” he said.

The resolution also flagged that “various reports have linked delays and misalignment to these unprogrammed appropriations classified as ‘For Later Release’ (or FLR) by the DBM".

With 44 members in the House of Representatives, the NUP is second largest political party in the chamber, next only to the Speaker Martin Romualdez-led Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).