MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has rejected accusations by former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao Representative Isidro Ungab that portions of the 2025 national budget were left blank to be filled in later, calling the claims “lies” and “baseless.”

In a televised interview on SMNI, Duterte and Ungab alleged discrepancies in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2025, pointing to supposed missing amounts in allocations for the Department of Agriculture and unprogrammed appropriations.

Ungab presented what he claimed was the bicameral conference committee (bicam) report to support the allegations, arguing that blank entries in the document could not be attributed to typographical or printing errors.

Duterte warned that such blanks would render the budget invalid and that tampering with the budget could lead to criminal prosecution.

Marcos Refutes Claims

President Marcos categorically dismissed the allegations during an interview in Taguig City.

“He’s lying,” Marcos said. “He’s a president. He knows that you cannot pass a GAA with blanks.”

“He’s lying because he knows perfectly well that that doesn’t ever happen. Sa buong kasaysayan ng buong Pilipinas, hindi pinapayagan na magkaroon ng item ang GAA ng hindi nakalagay kung ano ‘yung project at saka ano ‘yung gastos, ano ‘yung pondo. So, it’s a lie,” the President added.

Marcos also pointed out that the official budget is publicly accessible on the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) website and challenged critics to verify their claims.

“Hanapin ninyo ‘yung sinasabi nila na blank check. Tingnan ninyo kung mayroong kahit isa para mapatunayan na tama ang sinasabi ko. Kasinungalingan ‘yan,” he emphasized.

Discrepancies in Documents

The DBM clarified that the bicam report Ungab presented is not the document signed into law by the president. Instead, the bicam report is a reconciled version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) prepared by both houses of Congress.

“It is important to note that, under the 1987 Constitution, it is the Bill—the GAB, and NOT the Bicam Report, that is officially submitted for the consideration, and approval or veto of the President,” the DBM stated.

The DBM added that the official GAA published on its website shows no blank entries in the alleged sections, and the bicam report Ungab referred to differs from the signed law.

Bersamin Calls Allegations “Fake News”

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin also refuted the allegations, calling them “maliciously peddled fake news.”

“Some quarters, including a former president, have maliciously peddled fake news about President Marcos having signed the GAA of 2025 with certain parts of the enactment purposely left blank to enable the administration to simply fill in the amounts like in a blank check,” Bersamin said.

He stressed that all 4,057 pages of the 2025 GAA were thoroughly reviewed before being signed into law.

“No page of the 2025 National Budget was left unturned before the president signed it into law,” Bersamin emphasized.

While Marcos did veto certain provisions of the GAB before its enactment, the DBM noted that vetoes are part of the legislative process and not evidence of irregularities.