Ejercito urges House to retain approved budget bill, settle differences in bicam

MANILA — Sen. JV Ejercito, Senate finance committee chair, on Thursday appealed to the House of Representatives to resolve issues in the proposed national budget bill at the bicameral conference instead of recalling the measure it has already passed.

Some members of the House, including the Makabayan bloc, have urged a recall the House version of the budget bill for further review after the Supreme Court declared provisions in the 2024, 2025, and 2026 national budget unconstitutional.

Ejercito warned that recalling the House budget bill could lead to a reenacted budget, which takes effect when the budget bill isn’t signed into law before the start of the fiscal year.

Reenacted budgets risk doubling funding on old projects and leaving new ones unfunded.

“I’m worried on that kasi pag ginawa yun most likely hindi tayo, hindi maipapasa by yearend ang budget. Kasi very tight mag-reresume ang impeachment, may [Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit] pa tayo,” he told the media in an ambush interview on Thursday.

(I’m worried about that because if they do that, we will most likely not pass the budget by yearend. We have a very tight schedule as we resume the impeachment trial. We alsohave the ASEAN Summit.)

He said differences can be reconciled at the bicam, which he said would be transparent and will be televised.

Ejercito suggested the decision could be a “knee-jerk reaction” to the flood control scandal, where funds went infrastructure projects that were substandard, non-existent, or otherwise irregular.

The senator also expressed support for the executive branch’s plan to appeal the Supreme Court ruling to allow the use of excess revenues, which he said could help fund foreign-assisted projects, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program.

“[The] use of the excess revenue and yung mga revenue from new tax measures, it will be prohibited. Pero sayang (But what a waste). I think that it has to be utilized,” he added.

Ejercito also said he will ensure that the proposed 2027 national budget would comply with constitutional requirements.

Budget committee hearings concluded on Thursday, with subcommittee reports due on Friday and a meeting with civil society organizations on Monday ahead of the start of plenary deliberations.