Allies of former President Rodrigo Duterte filed criminal and graft complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman against House Speaker Martin Romualdez and other members of the House of Representatives over alleged insertions in the 2025 national budget.
In a report by RH Val Gonzales, it was revealed that the petitioners include Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, Atty. Virgilio Garcia, Atty. Jimmy Bondoc, and Citizens Crime Watch (CCW) president Diego Magpantay.
In addition to the House Speaker, the complaints were also filed against Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, former Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations and Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, as well as Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, the acting chairperson of the appropriations panel.
The respondents will face 12 counts each, for the falsification of legislative documents and graft.
Moreover, the complaints stem from the alleged insertions amounting to approximately P241 billion in the P6.325 trillion national budget for 2025.
Former President Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab previously raised concerns over alleged blanks and discrepancies in the bicameral conference committee report tied to the enacted 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Ungab noted that the missing budget amounts were observed for items under the Department of Agriculture (DA) and unprogrammed appropriations.
Duterte then asserted that the GAA should not be considered valid because of the alleged discrepancies.
Meanwhile, President Bongbong Marcos Jr. firmly denied Duterte's allegations, calling the claims outright lies.
The President formally signed the GAA for Fiscal Year 2025 into law on December 30 last year.
