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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Panghuhula lang?': Ridon blasts proofless 'grand conspiracy' claim on P1.45-T insertions

'Panghuhula lang?': Ridon blasts proofless 'grand conspiracy' claim on P1.45-T insertions

Published Nov 4, 2025 07:04 pm

At A Glance

  • Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon slammed the "guesswork" behind the allegations that there was a "grand conspiracy" to insert a whopping P1.45 trillion in the current 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (PPAB)
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (PPAB)


Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon slammed the "guesswork" behind the allegations that there was a “grand conspiracy” to insert a whopping P1.45 trillion in the current 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget.
“Without actual evidence, this is a dangerous assertion,” Ridon, chairman of House Committee on Public Accounts, said in a statement Tuesday, Nov. 4.
The lawyer-solon was reacting to claims that such enormous insertions could not have happened without the knowledge and consent of former House Speaker, Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez and former Senate President Chiz Escudero.
As far as the allegation goes, the two lawmakers supposedly agreed not to contest the insertions in exchange for their own amendments to the 2025 budget measure.
“If the former Speaker, the former Senate President, or any member of Congress abused their power, then we should show the insertions, show the project history and implementation, and file the proper cases for ghost or substandard projects,” Ridon said.
“But if the whole theory is ‘It’s a big number so they must all be guilty,’ that’s not accountability. That’s guesswork," he underscored, referring to the alleged P1.45-trillion amount.
He further said that hard evidence always trumps blanket accusations.
“Accountability and actual criminal charges do not operate on ‘they must have known’ allegations,” the party-list solon further said.
Ridon said any supposed complicity should be shown through actual line items proposed or defended by former Senate President Escudero and former Speaker Romualdez.
He noted that all budget bills in the past have undertaken the same process: from committee hearings to plenary debates, to the Bicameral Conference Committee, and ratification by both chambers.
The House of Representatives and the Senate comprise the bicameral Congress of the Philippines, the top task of which each year is to pass the GAA for the following fiscal year.
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