VICE PRESIDENT Sara Duterte called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and members of Congress to answer to the public after the Supreme Court declared the General Appropriations Acts (GAA) for 2024 and 2025 and key provisions of the 2026 national budget unconstitutional.
In an official statement released on Oct. 21, Duterte thanked the High Court for upholding the Constitution and protecting public funds from political abuse.
“The Supreme Court defended the law,” Duterte said. “Now, it is time for President Marcos and the members of Congress who violated and enriched themselves using the people’s money—which should have gone toward improving the lives of Filipinos—to be held accountable.”
Duterte noted that the High Court’s landmark ruling validated her 2024 warning regarding the Bicameral Conference Committee’s budget deliberations. She claimed the panel had abandoned its role of scrutiny and debate, effectively functioning as a “stamping pad” for Malacañang’s budget preferences.
The Vice President stressed that Marcos must explain why he signed spending measures that contradicted his administration’s own proposed National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“The national budget is the people’s money, not a tool for politicking and the personal interests of those in power,” she stated.
The Supreme Court decision declared unconstitutional the unprogrammed appropriations and congressional budget increases inserted into the 2024 and 2025 national budgets, as well as specific special provisions in the 2026 GAA.
In response, Malacañang announced that the executive branch, through the Office of the Solicitor General, will file a motion for reconsideration.
Palace officials maintained that President Marcos adhered to long-standing practices regarding unprogrammed allocations and acted within existing legal frameworks.