A Makabayan lawmaker has challenged the Office of the President (OP) to waive any parliamentary courtesy and subject its budget to full scrutiny by the House of Representatives ahead of the office's scheduled budget hearing tomorrow, Sept. 8.

ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio made the call Sunday, Sept. 7 following Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin's attack on House members regarding alleged budget irregularities.

In his scathing statement, Bersamin defended Cabinet officials and condemned what he called the "recent spins from certain members of the House of Representatives" for supposedly attempting to shift blame for corruption onto the executive department.

"If Secretary Bersamin and the Marcos administration truly have nothing to hide, then they should welcome the most thorough examination of their budget, Kung walang tinatagong anomalya, bakit takot matanong? (Why be afraid of questions if you're not hiding anything anomalies?)" Tinio asked.

The center of the controversy--the P6.793-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) or the proposed national budget for 2026--emanated from the executive branch through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Bersamin is expected to attend the OP's budget hearing tomorrow before the House Committee on Appropriations. Traditionally, the OP officials are accorded parliamentary courtesy by solons and the budget deliberation is terminated quickly.

It remains to be seen if such courtesy would still be given Monday after Bersamin's spicy remarks.

"Paalala kay Pres. Marcos Jr. responsibilodad niya ang taunang pambansang.badyet dahil siya ang nagpropose, siya ang nag-utos na madaliin (certified as urgent), siya  ang pumirma at nag-apruba at siya rin ang nagpatupad nito. Di siya pwedeng magmalinis," said Tinio.

(A reminder to President Marcos Jr.: the annual national budget is his responsibility because he proposed it, he ordered it to be expedited [certified as urgent], he signed and approved it, and he also implemented it. He cannot wash his hands of it.)

The deputy minority leader pointed out the hypocrisy of Malacañang's position, stating: "The Palace is crying foul over congressional scrutiny while presiding over the very budget process they now claim to be victims of. Hindi pwedeng mag-claim ng innocence ang administrasyong ito sa corruption na nangyayari under their watch (This administration cannot claim innocence amid the corruption happening under their watch.)

Tinio was alluding to the billions of pesos poured into questionable flood control projects and other infrastructure spending under the current administration.

Tinio emphasized that parliamentary courtesy should not be used as a shield against accountability.

"Parliamentary courtesy is a tradition of respect, not a license for impunity. If the President and his officials are truly committed to transparency and good governance, they should voluntarily submit to the same level of scrutiny they demand from other agencies."

The militant lawmaker noted that Bersamin's defensive stance only raises more questions about what the administration seeks to hide: "Their angry reaction to legitimate congressional oversight suggests they have something to fear from transparency. A clean administration would welcome scrutiny, not attack those who demand accountability."

Tinio concluded: "We call on President Marcos Jr. to show his administration's supposed integrity by instructing all executive officials, starting with himself, to waive parliamentary courtesy during budget deliberations. Show the Filipino people that this government has nothing to hide. Kung malinis ang konsensya, walang dapat ikatakot sa transparency (You shouldn't fear transparency if your conscience is clean)."