House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chair and Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Alonto Adiong assured the public that concerns over the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 could still be addressed before it becomes law.
Adiong said the bicameral conference committee, composed of representatives from the House and Senate, would review differences between the budget versions of the two chambers and could correct errors in project details and allocations.
“There’s nothing to fear because it will still pass through the scrutiny of the bicameral conference,” the veteran legislator said at a press briefing.
The seasoned lawmaker made the remarks following reports from the People’s Budget Coalition that some proposed farm-to-market road projects had coordinates pointing to bodies of water.
He said the bicameral committee would have the opportunity to examine the reported discrepancies before the budget is finalized.
“The bicam would sit and then see the conflicting provisions or line items including that of rectifying if there are mistakes in the coordinates.”
“The assurance that I can relay to the public is it would still pass through the stage where the bicam would sit and then see the conflicting provisions or line items including that of rectifying if there are mistakes in the coordinates,” Adiong stressed.
He explained that infrastructure projects under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) should already have identified locations and geotagged coordinates.
“What I understand with the budget under the NEP is meron po siyang geotagged, pre-identified na po ito na mga projects, especially sa mga infrastructure projects,” Adiong said.
“It could probably be as a result of human error.”
On suggestions that the questionable coordinates resulted from errors in copying project details into the General Appropriations Bill, Adiong said he could not confirm the cause.
“It could probably be as a result of human error, I don’t know. But I haven’t seen the coordinates,” he said.
Adiong stressed that the bicameral review could address mistakes in project descriptions and locations, aside from resolving differences in budget allocations.
“Kaya nga ito magkakaroon ng review ang bicam to rectify the records, not only just to resolve conflicting line items in both versions of the Senate and the House, but as well as to rectify accurate language and coordinates insofar as projects are concerned,” he said.
Adiong acknowledged that the reported errors were a valid concern but said they would not necessarily appear in the final General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“I know it’s a valid concern, but it will not directly reflect into the actual passing of the GAA,” he said.
The House Committee on Appropriations earlier reviewed and endorsed the proposed budget to the House plenary, which subsequently approved the measure.
The House is now awaiting the Senate’s version before the bicameral conference committee begins its review.
