Latest news with #RonaldoPuno
GMA Network
7 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Puno wants names behind 2025 zero PhilHealth subsidy, smaller education budget
"It is our position that we should not discuss the 2026 proposed budget unless the mysteries of the current budget are resolved," Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno said of his National Unity Party in a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. Members of Congress's Bicameral Conference Committee should reveal who initiated the realignment of P74 billion worth of government subsidy in the 2025 national budget, leaving PhilHealth with zero subsidy for this year. House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo made the statement in the aftermath of Senator Panfilo Lacson's statement that PhilHealth should not have been allocated zero subsidy for the 2025 budget. 'I agree with Senator Lacson that what happened was wrong. But for me, since it is the budget season, our party, the National Unity Party, it is our position that we should not discuss the 2026 proposed budget unless the mysteries of the current budget are resolved,' Puno said in a press conference. Puno then said it is important to note that the House-approved version of the 2025 budget kept the P74 billion subsidy for PhilHealth intact and as such, the chamber should not be blamed for the removal of the billions worth of subsidy. 'The House-approved version of the 2025 budget, and you can see it on the record, the PhilHealth budget [subsidy] was intact. The proposed Education budget was also intact. That is what was sent to the Senate,' Puno said. 'Now, the final budget removed the PhilHealth subsidy, reduced the Education budget, and the Public Works budget scored an increase. Sinong nagpalit nun? Paano nangyari yun? Sino talaga ang nagtanggal? Paano natanggal yung PhilHealth [subsidy] budget? Kasi alam ko, hindi dito sa House of Representatives 'yun,' Puno added. (Who made such changes? How did it happen? Who removed the PhilHeath subsidy budget? Because that is not an initiative of the House.) Puno then said the people behind the decrease in education budget and consequent increase in the budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). 'Gusto rin natin lahat malaman ito. Sino ba ang nakinabang dito sa pagpalit lahat nito? Sino ang nakinabang sa pagdagdag ng DPWH budget? [We all want to know this. Who benefited from the transfer? Who benefited from the increase in the DPWH's budget?] Because the additional budget for DPWH came from the cuts on DepEd budget and the PhilHealth subsidy,' Puno said. 'Is there truth to Senator Tito Sotto's statement that Senators and Senate leaders benefited from these budget realignments? We want to know because the House is being blamed for what happened in the budget when it should not be the case,' Puno added. The Department of Budget and Management is expected to submit the P6.793 trillion budget for 2026 before the House of Representatives on Wednesday, August 13. — BM, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
9 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Ronnie Puno optimistic about Con-con but admits 'challenges'
Amending the 1987 Constitution via a Constitutional Convention (Con-con) will face "challenges," but House Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo City is optimistic about its chances. "The initial reaction is always hindi papayag 'yung Senado dyan. Then the next reaction is, oh baka mamaya sabihin nila perpetuation of power na naman 'yan, babaguhin 'yung mga term of office. So, it's going to be a challenge,' Puno said in a press conference. (The initial feedback is that Con-con faces an uphill climb. The initial reaction is that the Senate won't agree to it. Next is that this is just about perpetuating ourselves in power by changing term limits.) Puno, meanwhile, said the public and his colleagues in the House and Senate should trust the Con-con system which is provided for by the Constitution, given that the House and the Senate can also limit the scope of the Constitution's provisions that will be amended. Puno made the statement after calling for a Con-con to address supposed vague provisions in the 1987 Charter. Among them is the use of the term fortwith in Article 11, Section 3.4 on the Accountability of Public Officials, which became controversial during the impeachment proceedings of Vice President Sara Duterte. After more than one-third of the House impeached and sent the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President last February 5, Senate President Francis Escudero has repeatedly said that while forthwith is the synonym of immediately, forthwith cannot be considered immediately because the Constitution did not state immediately. This, despite former Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolf Azcuna, who was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Convention and drafted Article 11, saying that he included the word 'forthwith' referring to the need of the Senate to proceed with the trial after the House adopts a Resolution of Impeachment. The Senate later voted to transfer to the archives the articles of impeachment agains Duterte, following the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) to declare her impeachment unconstitutional. Scope Puno, meanwhile, believes that the first challenge for the Con-con is to secure the passage of the Joint Resolution in the House and the Senate for the establishment of the Con-con to amend the Constitution. A Joint Resolution needs to be approved by two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate, voting separately, before both Houses of Congress draft and pass a bill that will serve as the implementing law for Con-con. In addition, Puno said the Con-con bill will set the parameters for which constitutional provisions should be amended and the qualifications of the Con-con delegates, among others. "We are not thinking of changing the form of government here. If the Senators or my colleagues in the House want to limit the scope of the amendments, that can be done under the bill. Sa [Con-con] bill, makakasiguro na hindi tatalakayin 'yung mga hindi dapat," Puno said. (The Con-con bill will ensure that the Con-Con will only discuss amendments with merit and not the ones that the public do not approve of.) Likewise, Puno said that the election for Con-con delegates can be done manually to save money, since it will not involve many names, unlike in usual midterm and national elections. 'I think that there is enough goodwill, there is enough patriotism in our national leaders that they can rely on to move forward. With a little faith...a little faith in the wisdom of our people in electing the delegates to the convention, faith in all of our citizenry in their ability to prevent abuse by being vocal and by being vigilant,' Puno said. 'So, andun kami sa alam namin mahirap ito pero wala namang madali,' he added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
a day ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Ronnie Puno calls for Cha-cha via Con-con
"Can the clear urgency mandated by constitutional language now be indefinitely stalled under the guise of interpretive discretion? A single, ambiguous word can become the justification for legislative inaction, procedural manipulation, or worse, the loss of accountability itself," Puno said. Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno of Antipolo City on Monday called for a constitutional convention to revise the 1987 Constitution, which he said contained certain provisions "marked by ambiguity and procedural deficiency." In a privileged speech, Puno said a Con-con was the 'most prudent, transparent and participatory mechanism' for Charter change. Under a Con-con, the electorate elects delegates who will propose amendments, which will be subject to ratification in a plebiscite. "Today, I submit to this August chamber that while the provisions of our Constitution are noble in aspiration, certain provisions are marked by ambiguity and procedural deficiency," said Puno, a former secretary of the interior. "These deficiencies do not merely complicate interpretation; they obstruct reform, hinder effective governance, and erode public trust,' he added. Puno cited the following provisions for what he called vagueness: Article 11, Section 3.4 on the Accountability of Public Officials which states that 'In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed', with the meaning of the word forthwith repeatedly delayed, sidestepped, or redefined by the Senate after more than one-third of the House impeached and sent the Articles of Impeachment against the Vice President last February 5; Article 8, Section 8 on the Judicial and Bar Council, which states that members of the JBC should include 'a representative of Congress,' without specifying how this would be done within a bicameral legislature, resulting in compromise of only one member of Congress, alternating between the Senate and the House of Representatives, sitting in the JBC; Article 6, Section 28.4 on the grant of tax exemptions, which states that 'no law granting any tax exemption shall be passed without the concurrence of a majority of all the members of the Congress,' without specifying if the bicameral Congress should act as a joint body or as separate chambers; Article 7, Section 19 on the presidential grant of amnesty, which needs to be concurred in by 'a majority of the members of Congress,' which does not explicitly state whether this should be done through a joint vote or as separate votes by the Senate and the House; and Article 10, Section 8 on setting a fixed three-year term for elective local officials, except barangay officials, which allowed Congress to pass at least five laws to postpone the holding of the barangay elections that Puno said has been abused either for political expediency or because of budgetary constraints, eroding democratic accountability. "Can the clear urgency mandated by constitutional language now be indefinitely stalled under the guise of interpretive discretion? A single, ambiguous word can become the justification for legislative inaction, procedural manipulation, or worse, the loss of accountability itself,' Puno said. 'A Constitution that fails to provide clear, unambiguous guidance undermines its own purpose as the country's fundamental law. When its wording is subject to multiple interpretations, the predictability of law dissolves, opening the door to legal confusion and arbitrary application,' he added. Puno said that the Filipinos deserved a Constitution that spoke plainly and very clearly. "As the supreme law of the land, the Constitution must speak with clarity and force; its provisions must be comprehensible not only to courts and legislators but to the citizens whose rights it enshrines," Puno said. Puno is a member of the National Unity Party (NUP), which has 44 members in the House of Representatives. The NUP is the second largest political party in the House, next to Speaker Martin Romuldez's Lakas-CMD, which has over 100 members. 'The Con-con route, rather than a constituent assembly, ensures singularity of purpose, freeing delegates from being preoccupied or derailed by lawmaking, oversight functions, and impeachment concerns,' Puno said. 'Conflict of interest would be avoided, broader representation guaranteed, and risk of political expediency is reduced,' he added. –NB, GMA Integrated News
