Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Escudero

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Senate President Francis Escudero rejects allegations and claims about supposed pork barrel allocations and insertions in the national budget, dismissing them as part of the political noise for the Senate Presidential elections next week.&quot;Madali namang sagutin basta may nagsasalita. Ang hirap makipag-debate kay sources. Mahirap makipag-debate kay Anonymous,&quot; Escudero said.&quot;Pero having said that, in my 27 years in Congress, I have not been known for that. Yung mga ganyang issue at walang napukol na ganyang issue sa akin, kaugnay niyan. Pangalawa, sabihin mo ng yung figure na nilalabas nila na ginawa daw ng Senado ay totoo o malapit sa katotohanan,&quot; he added. &quot;A hundred fifty billion over a 6.3 trillion budget is only 2%. Ibig sabihin ba nun, perfecto yung budget na ginawa ng executive at 2% lamang yung pagbabagong ipinanukala ng mga senador? Tiyak ko na higit doon yung amendments na pinanukala ng mga senador. At gayon din ng Kamara. So it&#x27;s a misnomer and it&#x27;s simply an accusation associated with the current political climate. Yung ingay sa politika, ika nga. Dahil na rin, magkakaroon nga ng eleksyon at halalan sa Senate President. Pero, hindi ako bababa sa level nila,” he said.Escudero aid flood control fund issues are not unique to the Senate, noting that the House actually as more allocations for infrastructure.&quot;Issue yan sa buong budget. Issue yan sa buong budget. Hindi lamang ng taong ito. Pero, pag nagdaang taon din. Pero, hindi yan issue laban sa Senado. Tingnan mo na lamang sa Kamara kung anong ang mga panukala nila. Bakit ba nakatuon ang pansin nila sa Senado, eh napakaliit lamang naman ang mga panukala ng Senado kaugnay sa bagay na yan,” he said.“Mas maraming tiyak ko ang mga panukala ng Kamara kaugnay sa infrastructure na nakita na natin sa mga nagdaang panahon. At yan nga yung naging isyu. Nakakatawa nga, na pilit nilang pinapasa sa amin at sa Senado ang bagay na yan,” he added.Escudero is expected to bang the gavel of the Senate on Monday for the inaugural session of the 20th Congress, not just as its carry over presiding officer, but hopefully, for a fresh mandate at the helm of the Senate.&quot;Sa panimula, oo, to convene dahil ako yung kasalukuyang nakaupo. Subalit, matapos ang pagbubukas ng Senado, ipagpapaliban ang upuan ko bilang tagapangulo ng Senado at magbubutuhan kami kaugnay sa susunod na magiging Senate President. Sa Lunes pa yun, sa ngayon mukhang may suporta kami at sana magpatuloy yun hanggang Lunes at sa darating ng mga Linggo&#x27;t buwan,” he said.Escudero also reiterated that he made no concessions to the Duterte allies in the Senate regarding the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after the bloc announced its support for Escudero&#x27;s continued Senate Presidency.&quot;Si Senator Bato na rin yung nagsabi. Dahil nakita niya yung uri at klase ng pagtatrabaho na ginawa ko noong ako yung nanilbihan bilang Senate President. Yun ang sinabi&#x27;t binanggit niyang rason kung bakit. Pero bilang rektang katugunan, walang rektang pangako. Dahil sa dulo, botohan niya ng mayuriya. At hindi naman ako makakapagsabing tiyak ganito na, tiyak ganyan na. Dahil lahat yan pagbabotohan. Tulad ng ginawa ko noong nagdaang pagpapasya  ng Senado, sa plenaryo lahat pinagpasyahan. Hindi sa isang  caucus, hindi sa loob ng saradong mga pintuan, ng kwartong saradong mga pintuan, pero in open plenary kung saan nagkaroon ng debate at nagkaroon ng botohan na bukas sa publiko,” he said.He sees no reason for any senator to have no committee chairmanship in the 20th Congress. The Senate has 41 committees.&quot;Dapat makakuha lahat. Walang rason para di makakuha lahat maliban na lang kung ayaw nilang magkakumite. Pwede rin naman yun. Wala naman din nakasaad sa rule na dapat ay meron siya kung ayaw niya. Yun lamang naman ang pipigil sa isang member na hindi magka-komite kung ayaw niya,” he said.He does believe that some senators may have more than one chairmanship.&quot;May dalawa. Nung nagdaang Kongreso, merong may apat, merong may isa lang. Depende. Depende sa gusto at saka sa ika nga sigasig na mag-chair ng isang komite. Dahil alam mo naman sa Senado, kapag ka-chairman ka, halos bit-bit mo na yung trabaho ng buong komite. At sa plenary na lamang hinahabol ng mga senador madalas, yung kanilang mga nais baguhin sa panukalang batas at hindi sa komite,” he said.Escudero said even first-term senators are entitled to chairmanships. <div> </div><div>RELATED VIDEO:</div><div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AT145CJHyss?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>

Senate President Francis Escudero rejects claims about supposed pork barrel allocations and insertions in the national budget, dismissing them as part of the political noise for the Senate presidential elections next week.

Senate President Francis Escudero rejects claims about supposed pork barrel allocations and insertions in the national budget, dismissing them as part of the political noise for the Senate presidential elections next week.

Escudero brushes off pork barrel allegations as 'political noise'

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Escudero brushes off pork barrel allegations as 'political noise'

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 24, 2025 06:59 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 24, 2025 11:33 PM PHT

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Francis Escudero

Senate

Senate President

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