hit-bonus Marcos denies ‘blank’ GAA items, says Duterte ‘lying’
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (SCREENGRAB FROM PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION OFFICE FACEBOOK PAGE)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stood firm that former president Rodrigo Duterte was lying on his allegations that there were discrepancies in the national budget for 2025.
In an ambush interview in Taguig City on Monday, Marcos was asked for a comment on Duterte’s allegations that some sections of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) were supposedly left blank to allow the administration to fill in amounts later, like a blank check, to facilitate theft.
Article continues after this advertisement“He’s lying. He’s a president. He knows that you cannot pass a GAA with a blank. He’s lying. And he’s lying because he knows perfectly well that that doesn’t ever happen,” Marcos said.
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO Marcos urged not to interfere in VP Duterte's impeachment case NEWSINFO Enrile defends remarks on INC rally: It's 'more like political pressure' NEWSINFO Baguio records first mpox case“Sa buong… sa kasaysayan ng buong Pilipinas, hindi pinapayagan na magkaroon ng item ang GAA na hindi nakalagay kung ano yung project, at saka ano yung… yung gastos, ano yung pondo. So, it’s a lie,” he added.
(Throughout… the history of the entire Philippines, the GAA is not allowed to have an item that does not state what the project is, what it is, the cost, or what the fund is. So, it’s a lie.)
Article continues after this advertisementMarcos then said that the soft copy of the GAA is accessible on the Department of Budget and Management website, and the public can check it themselves.
Article continues after this advertisement“Hanapin nyo yung sinasabi nila na blank check. Tingnan nyo kung meron kahit isa… para mapatunayan na tama ang sinasabi kong kasinungalingan yan. That’s my reaction,” he said.
Article continues after this advertisement(Look for what they say is a blank check. See if there is even one instance… to prove what I am saying—that that is a lie. That’s my reaction.)
blood suckers slotREAD: Bersamin on 2025 budget: ‘There is no program with blank appropriations’
Article continues after this advertisementEarlier in the day, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin also issued a statement refuting the allegations.
“No page of the 2025 National Budget was left unturned before the president signed it into law,” he clarified.
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Gorman will become chairman on Jan. 2, 2025. He will succeed Mark Parker, who is leaving after serving on Disney’s board for nine years.
Bersamin further said that all 4hit-bonus,057 pages of the two thick volumes of the 2025 General Appropriations Act were “exhaustively reviewed by hundreds of professional staff from Congress and the Department of Budget and Management.”
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