MANILA — Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has pushed back against claims by Batangas Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste that he was responsible for insertions in the proposed 2025 national budget, saying he was not in Congress at the time the spending plan was crafted.
In a statement released Monday, Ridon said he only returned to the House of Representatives in July after winning a seat as Bicol Saro’s representative, making it impossible for him to have participated in the preparation of the 2025 General Appropriations Act, including allocations involving the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Budgets for a given year are drafted in the preceding year, meaning the 2025 national budget was prepared in 2024, under the 19th Congress, before Ridon assumed office in the current 20th Congress.
“I have just returned to Congress this year, 30 June 2025, under the 20th Congress,” Ridon said. “So how would I be able to make insertions to the 2025 budget if I am not yet a congressman when this budget was crafted in 2024, under the 19th Congress?”
Ridon, a former Kabataan party-list lawmaker, urged Leviste to release the complete list of DPWH projects and their proponents instead of selectively disclosing information. He said the documents should identify all individuals involved, including members of Congress, senators, executive officials such as secretaries and undersecretaries, as well as private individuals.
He also questioned why Leviste has yet to make public the documents allegedly left in his custody by the late Public Works Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral. Ridon said there is no longer any need to wait for clearance from the DPWH or from Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon.
Leviste earlier revealed that he has copies of documents detailing alleged proponents of DPWH projects, which he said were at risk of being lost following Cabral’s death last Friday morning. However, he said he is awaiting a go-signal from the DPWH and Dizon before releasing the documents.
Ridon said accountability would be better served by full disclosure, rather than pointing fingers without providing complete information.
