President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday reiterated that there were no blank items on the 2025 national budget.
In his speech at the 20th National Convention of Lawyers, Marcos assured that he read and analyzed the 4,057 pages of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for year 2025.
“And so, for those of you, up to now I cannot find those damned blank items. We’ll keep looking, we’ll keep looking. But I’m really convinced that they simply do not exist because it is not allowed to exist,” he said.
“So, for those of you who think that the Presidency is just handshakes, photo ops, I assure you, that fine print is alive in my office as well,” he added.
Former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab called out the alleged blank items in the 2025 national budget.
Marcos replied to this accusation and said that the former president was “lying.”
The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations acting chairperson, Rep. Stella Quimbo, said that there were blank items in the report; however, she added that the funding for these items had been identified prior to the President signing the report.
“Lahat ng naging corrections ng ating technical staff, lahat po ‘yan ay ministerial na lang. Ibig sabihin, calculator activity na lang po. Wala na po silang discretion dahil lahat po ay decided na by the bicam members at the point of signing,” said Quimbo.