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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Baril budget?': House leader orders probe on huge P8-B insertion for firearms

'Baril budget?': House leader orders probe on huge P8-B insertion for firearms

Published Sep 4, 2025 02:00 am

At A Glance

  • House Deputy Speaker Antipolo 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno has tasked Manila 2nd district Rep. Rolando Valeriano to hold an inquiry on the alleged P8-billion insertion in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) budget for the purchase of firearms.
Manila 2nd district Rep. Rolando Valeriano (Ellson Quismori/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Manila 2nd district Rep. Rolando Valeriano (Ellson Quismori/ MANILA BULLETIN)


House Deputy Speaker Antipolo 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno has tasked Manila 2nd district Rep. Rolando Valeriano to hold an inquiry on the alleged P8-billion insertion in the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) budget for the purchase of firearms.
Puno, in a press conference with fellow party leaders on Wednesday, Sept. 3, said that such a massive amount in the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP)--a flawed document by their estimation--cannot be left unchecked.
The National Unity Party (NUP) chairman said lawmakers scoured the budget books but found no trace of the allocation in either the 2025 or 2026 budgets.
“Tiningnan namin ang ‘25 budget, hindi namin makita. Tinignan namin ‘26 budget, hindi pa rin namin makita. So siguro kung sinasabi mong insertion wala sa ‘25, baka pinaplano pa lang sa ‘26. Kaya titingnan natin kung anong storya diyan,” said Puno, a former DILG secretary.
(We looked at the '25 budget, and we couldn’t find it. We checked the '26 budget, and still couldn’t find it. So maybe, if you’re saying the insertion isn’t in '25, it might still be in the planning stage for 26. That’s why we’ll look into what the story is there.)
“Cong. [Rolando] Valeriano, you might want to address this," he told the Manila solon, who was also at the presser.
'Alam ko (I know that) one congressman is already preparing a resolution [for us to conduct an investigation]. Kasi masyadong malaki, ‘di ba? (Because the amount is too big, right?)” Puno said.
Valeriano, chairman of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, and co-chairman of the quad-committee (quad-comm), confirmed his panel was preparing to convene an inquiry to determine if the multi-billion peso firearms fund was ever formally proposed.
“The earliest is by next week,” he said.
Torre link?
Asked if the issue was somehow connected to the recent removal of former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Nicolas Torre III, Valeriano said the actual hearings would answer this question.
“That we have to see. Pagdating ng hearing makikita natin ‘yan kung may kinalaman (We will find out in the hearings if there is a connection). Definitely they will be invited to the hearing,” Valeriano said.
The DILG has supervisory function over the PNP, which is a civilian entity.
House leaders said the probe will seek to establish accountability for the insertion and ensure that no hidden allocations slip through the national budget process.
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