Malacañang asserted that the Office of the President (OP) will not be held accountable if any legal challenges arise concerning the alleged blank items in the bicameral conference committee report.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin noted that individuals planning to bring the issue before the Supreme Court (SC) cannot be stopped.
He further emphasized that if there are indeed deficiencies or errors in the content of the budget, it is Congress, not the executive, that will be held accountable, particularly since the alleged blank items were found in the bicam report.
Meanwhile, Bersamin expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will not halt the implementation of the budget, as the continuous operation of government offices is essential.
"The Supreme Court will never stop the budget from being implemented. I cannot understand if the Supreme Court will have that tendency to put a stop to it even if any of those challengers will ask for a TRO because the government must function, must be run," Bersamin said during a press briefing at PICC on Friday.
Previously, former President Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab expressed concerns over alleged blanks and discrepancies in the bicam report related to the enacted 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Ungab presented several pages from the report that contained blank spaces where amounts should be listed.
Furthermore, Duterte argued that the GAA should not be regarded as valid legislation due to the alleged discrepancies.
On December 11, the bicameral conference committee held its final meeting, during which the report was ratified.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. formally signed the GAA for Fiscal Year 2025 into law on December 30.
Marcos Jr. denied Duterte's allegations, dismissing the claims of discrepancies as outright "lies." He pointed out that the former President is aware that blank items are not allowed in the GAA.
