SC orders Rep Quimbo, TWG staff to attend budget oral arguments

The Supreme Court has ordered Representative Stella Quimbo, acting House Appropriations Committee Chairperson, and Technical Working Group staff from both chambers of Congress to attend oral arguments regarding the 2025 national budget on April 1 in Baguio City.

The oral arguments, which may extend until April 3, will address a lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 12116, the Fiscal Year 2025 General Appropriations Act.

The petition was filed by former executive secretary Atty. Vic Rodriguez and other petitioners.

Key issues raised include the alleged removal of PhilHealth's budget, which petitioners claim violates the constitutional right to health and the Universal Health Care Act.

They also allege that the education budget was misleadingly inflated and that the bicameral conference committee submitted a budget with blank items, deemed illegal and susceptible to falsification.