A Batangas congressman is calling on both chambers of Congress to slash what he describes as bloated legislative operating budgets and channel the savings — some ₱14 billion — directly into food assistance for millions of Filipino households, filing a formal resolution to that effect on June 15, 2026, the opening Sunday of the 20th Congress' Second Regular Session.
House Resolution No. 1118, authored by First District Representative Leandro Legarda Leviste of Batangas, does not seek new appropriations. Instead, it urges Congress to realign ₱14 billion already embedded within the 2026 General Appropriations Act under Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) — funds Leviste has publicly and repeatedly described as disguised legislative "bonuses."
One Sack of Rice or Food Pack Per Filipino Household
Speaking at a press briefing held at the House of Representatives, Leviste laid out the arithmetic behind the proposal. The combined MOOE of the Senate and the House of Representatives totals approximately ₱24 billion, he said — a figure he argues can be responsibly trimmed to around ₱10 billion without hampering core legislative operations, consistent with how much Congress has historically spent on operations in prior years.
That leaves a surplus of roughly ₱14 billion, which Leviste said could be converted into tangible aid. According to the resolution, pegging the cost of a single Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) family food pack — or a 10-kilogram sack of rice distributed through the government's Bawat Bayan Makikinabang program — at approximately ₱500 each, the ₱14 billion would be enough to provision as many as 28 million families. That number, Leviste noted, is roughly equivalent to the total number of households in the Philippines.
To dramatize the scale of individual allocations, Leviste produced sample cheques during the press briefing illustrating what House members currently receive under MOOE disbursements.
Congressional MOOE Up 228 Percent Since 2017
HR 1118 draws on specific figures from the 2026 national budget to make its case. According to the resolution, the 2026 General Appropriations Act sets aside ₱18.58 billion in MOOE for the House of Representatives, ₱4.12 billion for the Senate, and ₱1.19 billion for the Commission on Appointments and the electoral tribunals. The combined legislative MOOE comes to ₱23.89 billion.
HR 1118 states that this total represents a 228.61-percent increase over the ₱7.27 billion recorded in the 2017 budget — a compounded annual growth rate of 14.13 percent over nine years. Even after the proposed ₱14-billion reduction, the resolution points out, Congress would still retain ₱9.89 billion in operating funds.
Based on consultations with the House Committee on Accounts, the resolution further states that at least ₱10 billion of the House's MOOE share goes to what HR 1118 characterizes as "unidentified uses." After deducting ₱3.31 billion earmarked for supplies, utilities, and physical maintenance, the 2026 House MOOE stands at ₱15.27 billion — averaging out to roughly ₱48 million per member across 318 House districts.
Members Draw Up to ₱1 Million Monthly for Office Operations
Leviste disclosed during the briefing that the basic office MOOE given to House members averages around ₱1 million per month — totaling ₱3.82 billion collectively across all 318 members over a full year — intended to cover travel, communication, representation, and related office costs.
Beyond this monthly allotment, he said some lawmakers also receive "break bonuses" of ₱2 million per session recess. A significant portion of MOOE, he added, is "liquidated by certification," a process that does not require the submission of official receipts before funds are released.
HR 1118 does not deny that legislators have genuine office and constituency-related expenses. However, it argues that releasing funds through certification-liquidated cheques — with no receipts required — makes such disbursements functionally indistinguishable from untaxed bonuses, and that distributing these amounts "equitably and with transparency" would improve public accountability over legislative spending.
Earthquake, Typhoons, and Inflation Cited as Drivers of Urgency
The resolution points to a convergence of crises as justification for the reallocation. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern Mindanao on June 8, 2026 — exactly one week before HR 1118 was filed — displacing thousands of families and stretching the capacity of government relief operations.
HR 1118 also cites the United Nations' World Risk Report, which ranks the Philippines as the world's most disaster-exposed nation, as well as domestic inflation data showing a 7.2-percent price increase in April 2026 amid a continuing oil price crisis — conditions that have significantly weakened the purchasing power of ordinary Filipino households.
The resolution notes that House members had already agreed to voluntary salary deductions to support victims of the 2026 Mindanao earthquake, as well as those displaced by typhoons Tino and Uwan and a separate earthquake that struck Cebu in 2025 — a pattern that illustrates the sustained and recurring nature of the country's disaster relief burden.
Resolution Demands MOOE Audit and Public Hearings
In addition to calling for the ₱14-billion reallocation, HR 1118 urges the House Committee on Accounts and its Senate counterpart to publish a detailed, itemized breakdown of MOOE expenditures — including how much each individual member receives. The resolution also calls for public hearings on how legislative funds are used and recommends shifting to a constituent-proportional model for MOOE distribution, so that lawmakers representing larger populations receive correspondingly larger operating budgets.
Findings from those hearings and audits, the resolution states, should be used to shape reforms in both the 2026 and 2027 national budget cycles. It also notes that the House already allocates a portion of its internal budget for disaster relief and social assistance purposes.
Leviste Has Been Among Congress' Most Vocal Critics of Legislative Spending
Leviste — son of Senator Loren Legarda and former Batangas Governor Antonio Leviste — has established himself as one of the House's sharpest internal critics of congressional budget practices. He had previously questioned a ₱10.5-billion increase in the legislature's own budget and publicly raised allegations of year-end "bonuses" tied to MOOE disbursements.
Several of his colleagues have pushed back on those allegations, maintaining that the disbursements in question are lawful and subject to audit within established legal parameters. HR 1118 represents Leviste's most detailed and data-driven legislative effort to date to quantify the amounts involved and formally redirect them to social welfare purposes.
As of June 15, 2026, the date of filing, neither House leadership nor the Senate had issued any formal statement regarding the resolution's prospects for committee referral or floor action, according to available records.
Measure Now Awaits Referral to House Committee
HR 1118 is expected to be transmitted to the appropriate House committee for review and deliberation. As a resolution, it does not carry the force of law on its own, but it serves as a formal call to action directed at both chambers' accounts committees and leadership.
Should the measure gain sufficient support, any actual budget realignment it proposes would require coordinated action by both the House and Senate, as well as the concurrence of legislative leaders in both chambers on any adjustments to their respective MOOE appropriations for fiscal year 2026, according to HR 1118's own provisions.
Originally reported by: House of Representatives of the Philippines / Philippine congressional press pool