It's an election budget

COMMONSENSE - In utter dismay over how badly distorted the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) came out, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (PBBM) wants to redo it.

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

Separately ratified by both chambers of the 19th Congress, the President minced no words in asserting the P6.352-trillion budget for next year - as submitted by the Executive branch - has been mangled by "insertions" and re-alignments.

It was after the bicameral conference committee (bicam) practically rewrote the 2025 GAA after it was respectively approved at the Senate and at the House of Representatives. Dubbed as the "third Congress," the bicam is constituted to reconcile the differing versions of two same legislative bills approved separately in both chambers. The bicam is composed of an equal number of senators and those from the House of Representatives as panel members.

The designated chairperson for each panel for the 2025 GAA bill was Senator Grace Poe, as the chairperson of the Senate finance committee, and her counterpart Ako Bicol party list Rep. Elizaldy Co, who chairs the House committee on appropriations.

The 12-man Senate panel was composed of Senate pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada; Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino; Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III; Senate assistant minority leader Risa Hontiveros; Senators JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, Imee Marcos, Ronald Bato dela Rosa, Joel Villanueva, Cynthia Villar, Mark Villar and Miguel Zubiri.