- Ungab slams allegation of misleading public over blank entries in bicam report
THIRD District Rep. Isidro Ungab hit back at Malacañang labeling as “fake news” the bombshell that he exposed involving the blank items in the bicameral report that became the basis for the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
In a statement issued on his Facebook page, he reiterated his earlier expose in the podcast “Basta Dabawenyo” that the bicam report contained numerous blanks.
“So if there are blank items in the bicam report, how come the GAA was complete despite the blank items?” Ungab posted.
Ungab clarified that the final 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. already filled in the blanks.
On Monday, Jan. 20, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said that former President Rodrigo Duterte lied about what he called missing budget amounts and discrepancies in the newly approved PhP 6.326-trillion national budget.
“He’s lying. He’s a president. He knows that you cannot pass a GAA with a blank… He’s lying,” President Marcos said when asked for his reaction to Duterte’s accusation.
“And he’s lying because he knows perfectly well that that doesn’t ever happen,” Mr. Marcos said.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin also branded as fake news the expose of Ungab and the former president.
Ungab explained the process, starting with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitting the proposed budget to the House of Representatives. After the House approves the budget, it goes to the Senate for their approval.
The bicameral conference committee, composed of representatives from the Upper and Lower House reconcile discrepancies.
“The bicameral conference committee produces a report, and assuming it’s okay, they sign it, and both houses ratify it,” Ungab stated. “After ratification, the enrolled bill goes back to the president for signing.”
Ungab then pointed out specific pages in the bicameral report with missing figures, particularly in sections related to the Department of Agriculture.
“On pages SP11 and SP12, there are many blanks, and these are not ordinary figures; they amount to billions of pesos,” he emphasized. He cited examples where amounts were deleted and replaced with blanks, such as entries for the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
He also noted a discrepancy between the bicameral report and the final GAA regarding the Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Program. The report listed P146,335,937,000 for the program, but the GAA indicated only P126,728,221,000.
“With these findings, we see that the bicam report is defective. Why did the members sign it?” Ungab asked. “Both houses ratified a defective bicam report… In other words, our GAA is affected because the bicam report was defective. What was ratified by both houses is defective; there are many missing figures and blanks that can be shown in the signed bicam report. That is my finding.”
Ungab highlighted that the 222-page bicameral report was signed and ratified on Dec. 11, 2024, and the enrolled bill was signed by the President on Dec. 30, 2024.
Screenshot photo of Rhoda Grace B Saron
