President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. strongly refuted allegations made by his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, regarding discrepancies in the 2025 national budget. Marcos called the accusations “lies” and asserted that such discrepancies could never happen, emphasizing that as a former president, Duterte should be well aware of the budget process.
In a pointed statement, Marcos dismissed the claim that parts of the budget were left blank for future amendments. “He’s lying. He’s a president, he knows that you cannot pass a GAA without any – with a blank,” Marcos said, adding that it is against the law to allow any item in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) without specifying the project and its allocated funds. “In the entire history of the Philippines, an item in the GAA which does not have any allocated project or fund is not allowed,” he explained.
Marcos further clarified that the full details of the budget are available for public viewing on the Department of Budget and Management’s website, urging people to verify the claims themselves.
Malacañang also denounced the allegations as “criminal,” with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin condemning the spread of “fake news.” Bersamin assured that the 2025 budget was thoroughly reviewed by professionals from Congress and the Department of Budget and Management, with all 4,057 pages being exhaustively checked before it was signed into law.
Bersamin stressed that the accusations of a “blank check” budget were completely unfounded. “No page of the 2025 National Budget was left unturned before the president signed it into law,” he added.
The controversy began after former President Duterte and Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab raised concerns over supposed discrepancies in the bicameral conference report, particularly about missing budget amounts under the Department of Agriculture. They argued that blank spaces in the document could not be attributed to simple errors and suggested potential criminal actions if any tampering occurred.
However, Marcos and his officials have rejected the claims, with former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo suggesting that Duterte’s comments were based on hypothetical assumptions, not on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Panelo emphasized that Duterte’s remarks were purely legal opinions, contingent on the validity of the allegations by Representative Ungab.
The tension over the budget highlights ongoing political divisions, with Duterte’s statements sparking further debate about the integrity and transparency of the 2025 national budget.
