00:00The 2025 General Appropriations Act was legally and completely passed in Congress.
00:05House Committee on Appropriations Chair Stella Kimbo answered the question of many who filled in the blanks.
00:13Bella Alesmora is in the center of the news.
00:17House Committee on Appropriations Acting Chairperson Stella Kimbo will not be in charge
00:23even if a petition against the legality of the 2025 General Appropriations Act has already been submitted to the Supreme Court.
00:31Kimbo's determination to pass the law went through the right process and she is sure that the Filipinos will benefit from it.
00:39They are free to do that, but we stand by our position that the 2025 GAA is lawful, valid, and truly enforceable.
00:53The explanation is simple.
00:55The Enrolled Bill, in short, the Congress submitted the General Appropriations Bill is complete.
01:07And that became the basis of the 2025 GAA.
01:11Up to the issue of the blanks in the Bicameral Conference Committee report of the Panukala,
01:17the congressman again argued that there is no irregularity here.
01:21The Bicam members really agreed on the importance and details of this and the technical staff just arranged the papers
01:29so that when the proposal reaches Malacanang, it will be complete and there will be no blanks.
01:35The technical secretariat had absolutely no discretion.
01:39That is what is important there.
01:41That is why we are saying that it is only ministerial.
01:45They have no discretion.
01:47In the first instance, Kimbo directly answered the question of many who filled in the blanks.
01:53She said, Senate technical staff.
01:55But what they put was also based on the agreement of the Bicam.
02:01Yes, so what was prepared was the Senate technical staff of the Committee on Finance.
02:14If what was done was to put figures on their own and not discussed, that is wrong.
02:24That is unconstitutional.
02:26But I am telling you, that is not what happened.
02:30So those are the two distinctions.
02:32And again, as I have explained, everything is based on the existing reports.
02:42If House Speaker Martin Romualdez will ask about this,
02:46he will first study the petition he submitted to the Supreme Court before commenting.
02:51While for Senate President Francis Escudero,
02:54For me, it is an opportunity for the Supreme Court, the third branch of the government, to be involved in the budget process.
03:02We have seen the role played by the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch,
03:07and now we will see the role played by the Judicial Branch.
03:10Melales Moras for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
