Former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab raised concerns over alleged blanks and discrepancies in the bicameral conference committee report tied to the enacted 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
During the Basta Dabawenyo podcast on Saturday, Ungab disclosed presented pages from the bicam report that contained blank spaces where amounts should be listed.
"Marami akong nakitang kulang sa bicam report. 'Yung bicameral conference committee report, pinirmahan kahit may mga nakikita tayong blanko," Isidro stated.
"Maraming blanko and these are not I would say ordinary figures because these figures will reach to billions of pesos," he added.
Ungab noted that the missing budget amounts were observed for items under the Department of Agriculture (DA) and unprogrammed appropriations.
He expressed concern over how and why the House and Senate approved the report despite its incompleteness, calling it defective. He also noted that this issue impacts the signed law.
"So the House and the Senate ratified a defective bicam report. In other words, apektado ‘yung ating GAA because bicam report was defective," he added.
On December 11, the bicameral conference committee held its final meeting, during which the report was ratified.
Furthermore, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. formally signed the GAA for Fiscal Year 2025 into law on December 30.
Notably, the signing was delayed. The Palace had previously explained that the national budget underwent a thorough review of its line items to ensure alignment with the administration's objectives.
Former President Duterte asserted that the GAA should not be considered valid legislation because of the alleged discrepancies.
"Pagka ganoon, there’s something terribly wrong and as a matter of fact I would say kung may mga blanko ‘yan na lumusot, that is not a valid legislation. Kung nasa batas na ‘yan, lumabas na ‘yan ng blanko-blanko, either it could be filled up before or after sa Congress," Duterte explained.
"Pagka putol-putol ‘yan o may kulang, that is not a valid budget for implementation as law," he added.
He emphasized that this is not just inaccurate, but that the entire national budget is invalid because the people's funds cannot be left blank.
Additionally, he stressed that the law does not permit leaving any item blank with the intention of filling it in later.
Duterte stressed to Congress that it was incorrect and encouraged them to either amend the budget or recall it and demand an explanation for the discrepancy.
"Kung sino man ang ano niyan, they have to give us the explanation. Otherwise sabihin ko sa mga Pilipino, huwag na kayong magbayad ng buwis ninyo. Ganoon din naman, pinagsasasayang ng mga kumag na ‘to," Duterte mentioned.
The former president warned of potential criminal consequences for falsification or forgery and urged that those responsible be held accountable, warning that they could face imprisonment if found guilty.
"That is falsification of law. Perjury, forgery, and it can only amount to one thing—criminal action. You can all go to jail for that," said Duterte.
Moreover, Duterte urged the public to remain vigilant, adding that the police and military will not allow the country’s funds to be mishandled in such a manner.
He also stressed that the budget should be redirected towards critical sectors such as education and disaster preparedness.
"Nakikiusap lang ako sa mga u**l na ‘to, kung sino ‘yung gumagawa ng ganoon, pwede bang sabihin ko sa inyo na do not [f**k] the people of the Philippines? Magkagulo tayo," said Duterte.
"Kayong nasa bureaucracy, you better stand up straight and be counted as a true Filipino. Otherwise, you are asking for your early demise. Pag nagcoup d'état ito, patay diyan baka una kayo. Ang ayaw ng sundalo, naghirap na nga sila para sa bayan tapos nanakawan pa ninyo ng pera," he added.
Ungab, who exposed the alleged discrepancies, served in Congress for over 15 years, including as Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations from 2013 to 2016 and again in 2019.
