Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his economic managers review the 2025 national budget. Photo from MPC

Article (news)

Pia Gutierrez

Adrian Ayalin

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/173804616498517351803090951734926317911viber_image_2024-12-23_11-13-42-417.webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his economic managers review the 2025 national budget. Photo from MPC/File</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (UPDATE) — Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Tuesday refused to comment on the Supreme Court (SC) petition seeking to nullify the controversial 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA). </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2024/12/30/marcos-signs-2025-national-budget-1027">Marcos signs 2025 national budget</a></div><p>The petition, filed by Davao Representative Isidro Ungab and former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez, questioned the supposed blank items in the bicameral conference committee report of the spending plan.</p><p>“Too soon to comment. I have yet to be served. Hence, I have not seen the contents. After that, the comment will be through the Sol Gen (Solicitor General),” Bersamin said in a statement sent to Palace reporters.</p><p>The Palace earlier refuted former President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s claims that the 2025 national budget was invalid and unenforceable due to the supposed blank items in the bicam-level spending plan.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/27/2025-budget-lawful-valid-all-amounts-in-bicam-report-determined-before-signing-quimbo-1743">2025 budget lawful, valid; all amounts in bicam report ‘determined’ before signing: Quimbo</a></div><p>Malacañang has distanced itself from the issue of blank items in the bicam report, saying that the matter was internal to the House of Representatives and the Senate.</p><div><strong>WHAT PETITIONERS SAID</strong></div><p>The petition dated Jan. 27, 2025 noted that the Bicameral Conference Committee left blanks in its report pertaining to budget allocations for the National Irrigation Administration, Department of Agriculture, and the Philippine Coconut Authority.</p><p>“Clearly, the Bicameral Conference Committee committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess jurisdiction when it signed the committee report on 2025 National Budget filled with blanks,” the petitioners said.</p><p>The petitioners added that the budget violated the constitution for not giving the education sector the highest budget allocation.</p><p>They noted that budget for traditionally non-education-related agencies such as the Philippine Military Academy, Philippine National Police Academy, National Defense College of the Philippines, Local Government Academy, Philippine Public Safety College, Philippine Science High School, Science Education Institute as well as other education-related infrastructure projects were under the Department of Public Works and Highways.</p><p>“However, a scrutiny of the foregoing allocation would demonstrate the resolve of the present government to assign the highest budgetary priority to the infrastructure sector, headlined by the DPWH,” the petitioners said.</p><p>The petitioners also noted budget re-alignments which supposedly increased the proposed budget appropriations for Congress and other line agencies.</p><p>From the proposed budget of P16.35 billion for the House of Representatives, the budget grew to P33.67 billion when the bill was passed into law. For the Senate, there was a “more modest” increase from P12.83 billion to P13.93 billion, the petitioners said.</p><p>They said “not a single centavo” was appropriated for the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) with the supposed justification that there is an estimated P600 billion reserve funds of the state insurer.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/14/marcos-orders-uninterrupted-philhealth-benefits-amid-zero-gov-t-subsidy-1354">Marcos orders uninterrupted PhilHealth benefits amid zero gov&#x27;t subsidy</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/1/6/philhealth-announces-increased-benefits-for-members-in-2025-1605">PhilHealth increases benefits for members in 2025</a></div><p>The petitioners said PhilHealth would not be able to provide health benefits to its beneficiaries as mandated in the Universal Health Care Act and would be violative of the constitutional right to health of all Filipinos.</p><p>“On this score, it cannot be denied that the 2025 GAA is unconstitutional and anti-working class,” the petitioners said.</p><p>The petitioners included Rogelio Mendoza, Benito Ching, Jr., Redemberto Villanueva, Roseller Dela Peña, Santos Catubay. House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senate President Chiz Escudero and Bersamin were named as respondents.</p><div><strong>&#x27;NO REASON TO BE AFRAID&#x27;</strong></div><p>Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday said he welcomes the filing of the petition.</p><p>“We welcome any petition to question any law that Congress passes at para sa akin oportunidad yan para makilahok din sa proseso ng budget ang Korte Suprema, ang third branch ika nga ng pamahalaan,&quot; Escudero said in a press conference.</p><p>&quot;Para sa akin, hindi ito dapat katakutan, hindi ito dapat ikabahala. Ito’y bahagi ng ating demokrasya at patunay ito na malakas at matatag ang demokrasya sa ating bansa,” Escudero added.</p><p>The Senate leader asserted that the Committees on Finance and Appropriations are authorized to correct or put in adjustments which were already approved by the bicam.</p><p>He also said it was unfair to say that the budget was done haphazardly considering the work that lawmakers and their staff put in. <strong>—With reports from Victoria Tulad, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QAuuFJsXgSo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>A Palace official has refused to comment on the SC petition seeking to nullify the controversial 2025 General Appropriations Act. </p>

A Palace official has refused to comment on the SC petition seeking to nullify the controversial 2025 General Appropriations Act.

Palace: 'Too soon' to comment on SC petition vs 2025 budget law

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Palace: 'Too soon' to comment on SC petition vs 2025 budget law

Pia Gutierrez,

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 28, 2025 03:03 PM PHT

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Updated January 28, 2025 05:55 PM PHT

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Supreme Court

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