"He's lying."
This was how President Marcos responded to the comments of former president Rodrigo Duterte on the 2025 national budget, which he claimed to be containing irregularities such as blank items.
"He's lying. He's a president. He knows that you cannot pass a GAA (General Appropriations Act) with a blank...He's lying," Marcos said on Monday, Jan. 20, when sought for reaction on claims that he purposely left certain parts of the 2025 national budget blank to simply fill in the amounts like in a blank check.
Marcos argued that it never happened in the history of the country, and the his predecessor knows perfectly about it.
"He's lying because he knows perfectly well that doesn't ever happen. Sa kasaysayan ng buong Pilipinas, hindi pinapayagan na magkaroon ng item ng GAA nang hindi nakalagay kung ano yung project at tsaka ano yung gastos, ano yung pondo (In the history of the entire Philippines, the GAA is not passed without identifying the projects, expenditures, and budget)," Marcos stressed.
"So, it's a lie," he furthered.
The President urged the people to check the 4,000-page national budget posted at the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) website and see whether there are indeed blank items or not. He said it would instantly prove that he was telling the truth that it does not contain blank items.
"Hanapin n'yo yung sinasabi nila na blank check. Tingnan ninyo kung meron kahit isa para mapatunayan na tama ang sinasabi ko, kasinungalingan 'yan (Check every page. Check if it even has a single blank item to prove that I am telling the truth, that is a lie). That's my reaction," Marcos said.
The Malacañang, through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, has earlier debunked the claims from "some quarters, including a former president," saying it was malicious to peddle such fake news.
He emphasized that it is impossible for any portion of the budget to have been left blank.
Meanwhile, former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Marcos' response was "misplaced" as Duterte did not allege him for allowing blank items in the budget, saying the former president was merely expressing his legal opinion on the assumption made by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab.
"FPRRD did not allege any blank item or one that has no particular program. He was merely expressing a legal opinion on the assumption that what Cong Ungab was saying is true," Panelo said.
"In the same way, that PBBM response is also misplaced being anchored on the wrong premise," Panelo added.