Marcos sees ‘destab’ bid in SC petition vs budget
- Duterte allies are questioning alleged anomalies in the 2025 budget before the Supreme Court because, according to the President, “They want the government to cease working.”
- Marcos maintains that the government is on “solid footing” amid questions over the national budget’s legality.
- Vic Rodriguez, Mr. Marcos’ former executive secretary, and Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab have filed a petition with the high court questioning the constitutionality of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), alleging that the bicameral conference committee report that led to the GAA have “blank spaces.”
President Marcos on Thursday dismissed the petition questioning the 2025 national budget before the Supreme Court as part of alleged efforts to destabilize his administration.
Although saying he was confident that the government has a strong case to counter the petition for certiorari and prohibition against the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), Mr. Marcos warned that there was no Plan B if the Supreme Court strikes it down as unconstitutional.
“No. We shut down everything. I guess that’s what they want. They want the government to cease working, so that they can continue the destabilization that they are doing,” the President noted.
In an interview at Mactan-Cebu International Airport on Thursday afternoon, a visibly irked Mr. Marcos maintained that the government was on “solid footing” amid questions over the GAA’s legality.
He said Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra gave —him this assurance and that he would let the state lawyer argue the government’s case before the high court.
“I don’t know why they bothered to file that because they made a difficult assertion. Anyway, it’s not for me to make the argument. We’re very confident that our case is strong,” Mr. Marcos added.
The remarks came a few days after Vic Rodriguez, Mr. Marcos’ former executive secretary, and Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab filed a petition questioning the constitutionality of the 2025 national budget.
They alleged that the bicameral conference committee report that led to the GAA had “blank spaces” when it was signed by the committee’s members, before Congress ratified the GAA bill.
The petitioners urged the high court to strike down the 2025 national budget as unconstitutional, and called it an “illegal and criminal” measure.
Earlier this week, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, one of the respondents in the petition, said it was “too soon” for him to comment since he has yet to receive the complaint or see its contents.
Not allowed by law
On Thursday morning, the President also told the 20th National Convention of Lawyers in Cebu City that he could not find the “damned blank items” when he reviewed 4,057 pages of the GAA before signing it into law.
He told lawyers that he could give them a run for their money when it came to going over voluminous documents and contracts.
“Just last month, I had to read 4,057 pages of the GAA for 2025. Because I reviewed it, analyzed it, and yes—in parts vetoed it,” Mr. Marcos said.
He went on: “Up to now, I cannot find those damned blank items. We’ll keep looking, we’ll keep looking. But I’m convinced that they simply do not exist because [they are] not allowed to exist.”
Last week, Mr. Marcos called his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, a liar for claiming that there were blank spaces in the 2025 national budget that were to be filled up later.
Mr. Marcos said Duterte, as a former Chief Executive himself, should know “perfectly well that it doesn’t ever happen”—referring to the blank spaces in the GAA.
Duterte, who counts Ungab as an ally, warned that the GAA would be an “invalid legislation” if Congress passed it with some items left blank.
