The Supreme Court (SC) has told House committee chairperson Stella Quimbo and her team to come to Baguio City for an important meeting about the 2025 national budget. The meeting, called oral arguments, will happen from April 1 to April 3.
What’s Going On?
A group of people, including former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez and Congressman Isidro Ungab, think there’s something wrong with the way the 2025 budget was made. They believe some parts of the budget are unclear, missing, or even illegal. Because of this, they have asked the Supreme Court to declare the budget unconstitutional (which means it would not be allowed by law).
Why Is This a Big Deal?
The budget is the country’s money plan for next year. It decides how much money will be given to important things like schools, hospitals, and farmers. But the people complaining say:
- Some budget items were left blank, meaning nobody knows exactly how much money will go where.
- The report that explains the budget might have been changed in a sneaky way before it was approved.
Even former President Rodrigo Duterte is worried about this. He said that having empty spaces in the budget is dangerous because people could fill them in later with anything they want, which could lead to corruption (stealing money from the government).
What Will the Supreme Court Discuss?
The Supreme Court will try to answer these important questions:
- Can the people who complained actually sue? Do they have the right to take this issue to court?
- Is there a real legal problem? Or is it just a misunderstanding?
- Did the government break the law by approving a budget with missing parts?
They will also check if the 2025 budget:
- Breaks the Constitution by not giving enough money to healthcare and education.
- Ignored important rules about how the budget should be made.
- Allowed blank spaces that could be misused later.
What Did Stella Quimbo Say?
Quimbo admitted that yes, some items were left blank, but she said that the money for them was already decided before the report was signed.
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin (one of the President’s top advisers) said that Duterte and the others are spreading false information about the budget.
What Happens Next?
Now, everyone is waiting for the Supreme Court to decide. If they agree that the budget has problems, the government may need to redo it. If they say everything is fine, the budget will be used as planned.
This decision will affect every Filipino because it decides how the country’s money will be spent in 2025.
