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Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin Responds to Claims on 2025 GAA

Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin has strongly condemned recent claims, including those made by a former president, that President Marcos signed the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) with certain sections deliberately left blank to allow the administration to later fill in the amounts, likening it to a “blank check.” He described these claims as malicious and unfounded, stating that they should be regarded as criminal.

Bersamin clarified that every page of the 2025 National Budget underwent exhaustive scrutiny before being signed into law. The GAA, consisting of 4,057 pages in two volumes printed in fine print with nearly sixty lines per page, was meticulously reviewed by hundreds of professional staff from both Congress and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). This rigorous, line-by-line examination is a pre-enactment check conducted by dedicated civil servants to ensure that there are no discrepancies in the appropriations.

Bersamin emphasized that it is impossible for any funding items to have been left blank, as alleged by the malicious sources. He pointed out that the factual details and printed figures in the GAA easily debunk the false claims of intentional blank spaces meant for later manipulation.

He further stated that anyone who takes the time to examine the 2025 National Budget—available for public viewing on the DBM website—will see that no programs, activities, or projects lack the necessary appropriations. Bersamin called on the former president and his supporters to recognize that such claims are not only incorrect but also irresponsible, as the GAA cannot and does not contain any blank items.

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