Stopping thievery

SKETCHES

- ANA MARIE PAMINTUAN

With the thievery designed into the 2025 national budget being partly blamed for the Alyansa election debacle, President Marcos reportedly intends to closely monitor the bicameral conference on the 2026 outlay, short of sitting in on the proceedings.

The bicam is where all the creative insertions and hocus-pocus on the proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP) take place, with zero transparency and public accountability.

We can't expect much from the reelected lawmakers, most of whom failed to defend taxpayers from the institutionalized thievery. But perhaps many of the newbies in the incoming 20th Congress will support efforts to end the secrecy in the bicam. Why should deliberations on the utilization of trillions in people's money be done behind closed doors?

When the dishonorable members of the 19th Congress, particularly the bicam, finalized this year's outlay, the NEP—so painstakingly prepared by executive departments and agencies—was almost unrecognizable.

BBM, a former senator and congressman, is familiar with the budget process. So it's good if he will brush aside concerns about his in-person presence at the bicam and at least drop in during the budget deliberations. Even for five minutes, just to ensure that the locks are securely in place to keep out thieves.

The 19th Congress was doing a good job of highlighting the atrocities in Rodrigo Duterte's brutal war on drugs as well as the misuse of confidential funds by Sara Duterte as vice president and secretary of education.

Against the backdrop of those accusations, it was relatively easy for the House super majority to sell the idea that the VP deserved to be impeached.