VP Duterte demands accountability from Marcos, Congress over unconstitutional national budgets

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday challenged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to explain why he signed national budgets that the Supreme Court (SC) later declared unconstitutional, arguing that the spending plans did not adhere to his administration’s own proposed budget.

Duterte also called on members of Congress to account for their role in passing the budgets, accusing the bicameral conference committee of abandoning its duty to scrutinize proposed expenditures and instead serving as a “stamping pad” for Malacañang.

“Ang pambansang badyet ay pera ng taumbayan, hindi kasangkapan sa pamumulitika at personal na interes ng mga nasa puwesto sa gobyerno,” she said.

“ Ipinagtanggol ng Korte Suprema ang batas. Ngayon, panahon na upang managot sa taumbayan si Pangulong Marcos at ang mga miyembro ng Kongreso,” Duterte added.

The vice president said the Supreme Court’s ruling affirmed her warning in 2024 that the committee was no longer performing its intended role in reviewing and reconciling the separate budget versions approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Supreme Court declared the 2024 General Appropriations Act unconstitutional after Congress increased unprogrammed appropriations by P449.5 billion, from the P281.9 billion proposed in the NEP to P731.4 billion in the enacted budget.

The high court also declared the 2025 budget unconstitutional over a P17.99-billion increase in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Special Road Fund. It likewise invalidated provisions in the 2026 budget governing the release of unprogrammed appropriations, citing insufficient safeguards and overly broad conditions for accessing the funds.

Unprogrammed appropriations are standby funds that may be released when specified funding conditions are met, such as when government revenue collections exceed targets.

The SC clarified that these appropriations are not inherently unconstitutional but must comply with constitutional limits and have clear spending priorities.

Malacañang, meanwhile, said on Wednesday it would ask the Supreme Court to reconsider parts of the ruling.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the administration disagreed with the court’s conditions for releasing unprogrammed appropriations and maintained that Marcos should not be held liable for signing the budgets.