Palace denies hand in GAA ‘blank items’

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Malacañang was not involved with the so-called “blank pages” in the bicameral conference committee report on the 2025 national budget.

“Let’s clear from your consciousness that we are involved in the ‘blank pages’ that you say,” Bersamin said in a press conference in Pasay City on Friday.

“That is why we resented the impression that the President was given a blank check,” he added.

Earlier, former President Rodrigo Duterte alleged that blank items without specific projects or funding existed in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Bersamin defended the budget against these claims, calling them “fake news” and accused critics of trying to falsely implicate Marcos for filling in the blank pages.

“We’re saying it’s fake news because the President is being accused of filling in [the blank pages]. Even if that is not what they said, that is the impression they want to give to the public, which is very wrong, very malicious,” he stressed.

Bersamin said the executive branch “did not benefit at all” from any blank spaces that may have been in the budget.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also refuted the claims about blank pages, saying it was impossible for the GAA to pass with blank items.

“I came out with a very strong statement against that and the President was very blunt also in saying that whatever the former president was saying about this was a lie,” Bersamin said.

He said any questions regarding the bicam report should be directed to Congress.

“I want the people to know that we really had nothing to do with that. Ask the congressmen, the senators. And that is all that we can say at this point,” he said.