Claims that Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez had “functional control” over the national budget as former Speaker are an overreach, with allies arguing that no single official or office can dominate a process that passes through several branches and stages of government.
House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chair Jude Acidre said accountability in the flood control controversy should be based on evidence and the actual role of each person in the budget chain, not on sweeping assumptions about the powers of the former Speaker.
“It’s impossible for one person to have control over the entire process. And I think to surmise that one person or one personality or one institution has functional control is very much an overreach,” he stressed.
The statement came as Romualdez’s camp pushed back against allegations that he was the supposed “mastermind” of the flood control controversy because of his former position in the House.
Atty. Elaine Atienza, spokesperson for Romualdez, earlier said the national budget is not created, approved, released, implemented, inspected, or certified by one official. She said the process starts with the National Expenditure Program prepared by the Executive, then moves to the House, the Senate, the bicameral conference committee, the President, and finally to implementing agencies.
He expressed that any authority exercised by a Speaker would only cover the flow of legislative business within the House, not the entire national budget process.
“If you are to talk about ‘functional,’ ako ang masasabi ko lang kung meron man, ang Speaker siguro dapat meron lang control sa proseso ng House kung meron man,” he said.
Even within the chamber, he said budget deliberations involve hearings, plenary debates, questions from lawmakers, minority participation, and formal proceedings before any measure advances.
He also disputed attempts to portray the House as the center of the controversy, citing figures that he said showed Senate-introduced amendments in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget were larger than those from the House.
According to him, Senate-introduced amendments in the DPWH budget reached around P142 billion, while House-introduced amendments amounted to P94 billion, of which only around P30 billion-plus was released.
“So maisip ko, paano kaming mastermind eh hindi nga kami nakakuha ng pinakamalaking parte ng national budget, di ba?” he said.
Romualdez’s camp maintained that allegations involving the budget and flood control projects must be tested against records, releases, implementation, and agency-level actions, rather than assumptions tied to a former leadership post.