MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang will leave it to the Senate to settle its ongoing squabble over an alleged double entry on an infrastructure project in the 2008 national budget that has divided the upper House, an official said Tuesday.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the Palace respected the independence of the Senate as a co-equal branch of government and would not lift a finger to help resolve the dispute between Senate President Manny Villar, who has been linked to the alleged multimillion-peso irregularity on the C-5 road extension in Parañaque City, and some senators, led by Panfilo Lacson, who first exposed the supposed anomaly.

Saying that his investigation of the questionable funds, “led me to you, Mr. Senate President,” Lacson in a privilege speech Monday asked Villar to be "just man enough" to admit his "indiscretion" and apologize to the tax payers.

Villar denied the allegations following Lacson’s speech.

"Because we are co-equal branches and these are independent branches, we leave it to the Senate to do what it feels is appropriate on these issues confronting them," Dureza said in an interview at the House of Representatives Tuesday.

Speaker Prospero Nograles advised his fellow lawmakers to focus on the 2009 budget instead of wasting time on hurling charges against each other.

Nograles has expressed concern that the issue "might go out of hand and turn into a protracted grudge war" among some senators and stall the passage of the budget.

Dureza, who is also acting executive secretary while Eduardo Ermita is on official mission abroad, was supposed to defend the proposed 2009 budget of the Office of the President, but the hearing was terminated by the chairman of the committee on appropriations.

Dureza said the executive would not be distracted over the Senate dispute and would continue its governance.

Asked if Malacañang was worried that the intramurals in the Senate would derail the budget deliberation and passage of crucial legislation, Dureza said, “Let's wait until it plays out on its own.”

Nograles said the alleged double entry on the road project was just a "petty matter," adding that it was funded only once anyway.

"These are petty matters and we don't need to waste so much time and energy on these things. . . . I strongly suggest we just move fast forward instead of rewind. Time is of the essence now," he added.