MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday dismissed claims of blank pages in the 2025 national budget, asserting that every detail in the P6.326-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) had been thoroughly reviewed.
Speaking at the 20th National Convention of Lawyers in Cebu City, Marcos emphasized that he personally examined the 4,057-page budget document and found no missing details.
“I cannot find those damned blank items. We’ll keep looking, but I’m really convinced they simply do not exist because it is not allowed to exist,” Marcos said, countering allegations raised by former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab.
Allegations of Budget Irregularities
Earlier, Duterte and Ungab flagged supposed discrepancies in the bicameral conference committee report on the budget, leading Ungab, former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, and others to file a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the budget’s constitutionality.
Despite Marcos’ denial, House Appropriations Committee acting chairperson Stella Quimbo confirmed that there were indeed blank items in the bicameral report. However, she clarified that funding had already been identified before the signing, and any technical corrections were merely “ministerial” in nature.
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin assured that the Office of the President would not be held liable should the matter be elevated to the Supreme Court.