Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab have raised concerns about significant discrepancies in the 2025 national budget, citing missing amounts in items for the Department of Agriculture and unprogrammed appropriations.
In an interview shared by SMNI on Saturday, Ungab described the blank entries in the bicameral conference committee report as more than typographical errors, pointing out that they involve billions of pesos across multiple pages.
“These are not ordinary figures… There are many pages like this. This means there was a discrepancy, so how did the discrepancy happen?” said Ungab, a former chairperson of the House appropriations committee.
Defective Bicameral Report
Ungab criticized the bicameral conference committee for ratifying what he deemed a “defective” report, arguing it compromises the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“With all these findings, we can see that the bicam report was defective. Why did the members sign it? The House and Senate ratified a defective bicam report,” he added.
Duterte: Budget “Invalid” with Blanks
Reacting to the issue, Duterte emphasized that budget items should never be left blank, as this undermines the integrity of the legislation.
“When it’s like that, there’s something terribly wrong… That is not valid legislation. If it’s missing or has blanks, that is not a valid budget for implementation,” he said.
Duterte called on Congress to recall and correct the budget, likening the blank entries to being handed a blank check.
“That is not allowed by law. Please correct it or demand an explanation for why it arrived like that… If anyone tampered with the budget, they could face criminal prosecution,” Duterte warned.
He pointed out potential legal repercussions, including falsification, perjury, and forgery, adding that such acts could lead to imprisonment.
Marcos Vetoes P194 Billion
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the ₱6.326-trillion national budget on December 30, 2024, but directly vetoed over ₱194 billion in line items, particularly those inconsistent with his administration’s priorities. This included programs under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Duterte warned against further mishandling of public funds, calling for accountability within the bureaucracy.
“To those tampering with the budget: don’t [mess with] the people of the Philippines. If this leads to chaos or a coup d’état, you will be the first to go,” Duterte cautioned.