MANILA — Amid allegations of “insertion,” House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III defended the House-approved 2026 national budget proposal on Wednesday, claiming that the chamber’s budget procedure was neither “illegal” nor “secret.”
He made the statement in response to a PCIJ report alleging that the House of Representatives had suggested P23 billion in “insertions” for the Department of Public Works and Highways’ 2026 budget. The House Speaker’s constituency reportedly received the largest portion of that sum, followed by the district of Mikaela Suansing, the chairperson of the House Appropriations Committee.
Regarding the purported increase in the anticipated infrastructure budget for their respective districts, neither legislator has yet to respond directly. However, according to the House Speaker, all budget modifications were accepted by the lower chamber on third and final reading after following the correct procedures.
In a statement, Dy said, “Ang katotohanan: Walang iligal, walang palihim, at walang panlilinlang na nangyayari sa ating panig.”
“Bilang Speaker ng Kamara, ako po ay naninindigan sa malinis, maayos, at tapat na proseso ng paggawa ng budget,” he added.
Dy stated, “Lahat po ng nilalaman ng ating panukalang batas—kasama na ang mga pondo, probisyon, at programa—ay dumaan sa tamang proseso. Iyan ay inaprubahan ng buong House of Representatives sa ikatlong pagbasa, at bago pa man magsimula ang bicam, naipasa na ito.”
Rep. Toby Tiangco of Navotas City denied on Tuesday that there were “insertions” in the House-proposed 2026 infrastructure budget for his district, claiming that the P748 million increase was a “restoration of wrongly removed funds.”
Before the House plenary, Tiangco made a privileged speech, “Ang P748M ay hindi insertion. Hindi rin po ‘yun dagdag. ‘Yun ay halaga na ibinalik lang sa distrito ng Navotas dahil ‘yun ay nararapat para sa aming distrito… Hindi ako nag-insert at hindi nadagdagan ang budget ng distrito ng Navotas. May ibinalik lang, pero kulang pa rin ang ibinalik.”
“Wala pong katotohanan na ako ay may insertion. Hindi ko magagawa na mag-insert dahil hindi ako myembro ng Committee on Appropriations kaya’t imposible po ang sinasabi nila,” he added.
A budget adjustment that was accepted by the lower chamber on second and third readings, according to Tiangco, cannot be regarded as a “insertion.”
NO BICAM INSERTION
Dy asserted that the planned national budget for 2026 contained no “insertions” at the bicameral conference committee level.
