MANILA – Senators Sherwin Gatchalian and Joel Villanueva on Tuesday dismissed allegations of “blank items” in the 2025 national budget, asserting that it underwent thorough review before signing.
In an ambush interview, Gatchalian said Senate staff, committee chairpersons, and lawmakers meticulously review annexes and attachments to ensure the budget balances.
“Pinipirmahan namin ‘yung front page pero nire-review ng staff lahat ng mga annexes, attachments. Of course, nire-review din ‘yan ng chairman bago fina-finalize. Kung blangko, hindi magbabalanse. Kailangan balanse ‘yung budget (We sign the front page but the staff reviews all the annexes, attachments. Of course, the chairman also reviews that before finalizing it. If it is blank, it will not be balanced. The budget needs to be balanced),” Gatchalian said.
He said it is impossible to pass a budget with blank items.
“Sa akin and my team, wala kami nakitang blangko kasi dapat balanse. ‘Yun ang tinitingnan namin parati (For me and my team, we didn’t see any blanks because it has to be balanced. That’s what we always look at),” Gatchalian assured.
Villanueva echoed Gatchalian’s sentiments, stating that the bicameral conference committee report, which he also signed, was complete.
“As a member of the bicam, lahat andun. Wala akong nakita na blangko, whatsoever (As a member of the bicam, everything was there. I didn’t see anything blank, whatsoever),” Villanueva said in a separate interview.
Villanueva stressed that passing a law with blank items would be highly improbable.
“Ang hirap paniwalaan nung blangko eh, kasi hindi magta-tally talaga and at the same time, parang hindi maaaring ipasa ‘yung batas na ‘yun kung blangko (It’s hard to believe when it’s blank because it won’t really tally and at the same time, a law can’t be passed if it’s blank),” he said.
The senators reactions came after former president Rodrigo Duterte and Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab claimed that at least 13 pages of the 2025 budget included items with blank appropriations, suggesting a “blank check” scheme for future allocations.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. dismissed the claims as “lies” and assured that the budget was meticulously reviewed and every item clearly defined. (PNA)