What's the plan if SC rules vs. 2025 budget? Marcos says we shut down everything
![Marcos Supreme Court 2025 budget we shut down](https://images.gmanews.tv/webpics/2025/01/bongbong_marcos_rtvm_1-30-25_2025_01_30_15_25_32.jpg)
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. talked about a government shutdown when asked about contingencies if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the petition challenging the constitutionality of the General Appropriations Act or the national budget for 2025.
Marcos said this was what critics wanted to destabilize the government but added that the GAA was "on solid footing in terms of constitutionality."
Does the government have any contingency if the SC ruled in favor of the challenge against the national budget?
“No, we shut down everything. I guess that’s what they want. They want the government to cease working so ‘yung matuloy ‘yung kanilang mga destabilization na ginagawa,” Marcos told reporters.
(They want the government to cease working for their destabilization efforts.)
Marcos' former executive secretary and senatorial aspirant Vic Rodriguez, Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab, and others have asked the SC to declare the 2025 national budget unconstitutional amid alleged irregularities and supposed blank items in the bicameral conference committee report.
Named respondents were the House of Representatives, as represented by Speaker Martin Romualdez; the Senate of the Philippines, as represented by Senate President Francis Escudero; and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
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“SolGen Menard [Guevarra] tells me that we are on a solid footing in terms of constitutionality…I don’t know why they bother to file that,” Marcos said.
“Well, anyway, it's not for me to make the argument. We'll let the SolGen make the argument before the Supreme Court. We're very confident that our case is strong," he added.
Marcos earlier said there were no blank pages in the bicameral report of the P6.326 trillion budget.
House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations acting chairperson Stella Quimbo has also clarified that there were no more blank items in the enrolled bill signed by Marcos.
On December 30 last year, Marcos signed into law the P6.326-trillion national budget for 2025 and vetoed over P194 billion worth of line items that are not consistent with his administration's priorities.
For his part, Rodriguez argued the government will not cease to operate if ever the high court rules in favor of their petition.
“The government shall operate on a reenacted budget should the court issue a restraining order and will never shut down. We filed our petition to the Supreme Court to protect public funds from being disbursed illegally, prevent wastage of public money and people's money being deflected to any improper use,” he told GMA News Online.
“The case lodged before the Supreme Court is a testament of our adherence to the rule of law and respect to the Constitution as the supreme law to which all other laws must conform, all private rights are defined and all public authority administered,” he added. — With a report by Llanesca Panti/NB/VBL/RF, GMA Integrated News
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