Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque has publicly outlined what he described as the financial privileges attached to being a member of the House of Representatives, including recurring bonuses during congressional breaks and large sums he called “allocable budget.”
In a video posted on his Facebook page, Roque said a P2-million Christmas bonus for lawmakers existed during his own tenure as a party-list representative from 2016 to 2017, and that similar amounts were distributed at other points in the legislative calendar. “That (P2 million) comes from the Speaker. And not only that, every recess of Congress – and the Congress goes on recess four times – there is also a P2-million bonus,” he said.
Roque further claimed that, aside from bonuses, each lawmaker receives substantial monthly perks and hundreds of millions of pesos in funds earmarked for legislative or district use. He stated that these amounts were separate from regular operational disbursements handled by the House.
Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco confirmed the existence of payments released during congressional breaks, referring to them as a “break bonus” or allowance.
Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste said that all 318 members of the House, including party-list representatives, received a P2-million Christmas bonus last year.
Roque attributed the practice to expectations placed on lawmakers when they return to their districts during the holidays. “The reason is, when they go home to the district, they give a lot, so they are given a P2-million bonus. So it is really a Christmas gift, a Christmas bonus. But don’t deny that it is a Christmas bonus because it is a real Christmas bonus that only you, congressmen and senators, benefit from. It is clear. I experienced that as a congressman,” he said.
He added that the Christmas bonus was given on top of checks regularly issued to lawmakers under the House of Representatives’ budget.
Roque also discussed staffing arrangements in Congress, saying personnel costs do not come from individual lawmakers’ budgets. According to him, each congressman is assigned six plantilla positions and 10 consultants, whose compensation is charged to the House budget. “There are six plantilla, the chief of staff, legislative staff officer, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 8. So there are six. But aside from that, there are 10 consultants. During my time, each of the 10 gets P20,000 per week,” he said.
House public accounts panel chair and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon disputed the characterization of the funds as personal bonuses, saying they are intended to support official work during session breaks. “It is not a vacation kitty after every session,” he said in an interview on One News’ “Storycon.” “How is it used? For the various activities carried out by the different members of Congress and their offices, whether in the districts or for their constituencies for party-list organizations,” he said.
