By Rodolfo Dacleson II
(March 28, 2025) – The Malacañang on Thursday challenged Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong to prove his claim that the 2025 national budget was being used as an “election fund.”
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro asked Magalong if he would testify for the petition filed before the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the constitutionality of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“Iginagalang po natin ang pananaw ni Mayor Magalong pero mas maganda po sana kung magsasalita po siya ay nandiyan na, nakahain na po ang mga ebidensya na ito ay nagamit sa election fund,” said Castro in a media briefing.
Magalong, who’s seeking reelection in the 2025 midterm elections, claimed that lawmakers in the House of Representatives received social amelioration funds whenever they join House Speaker Martin Romualdez in out-of-town activities, according to reports.
Romualdez is the cousin of Pres. Bongbong Marcos Jr.
“Kung maibibigay niya (Magalong) po sa amin, sa PCO, kahit po sa akin, mas maganda po kung mababasa ko lahat ng mga ebidensya niya at ito po ay ating paiimbestigahan,” added Castro.
Last January, Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab and Marcos’ former executive secretary, Vic Rodriguez, among six petitioners, urged the SC to declare the 2025 GAA unconstitutional due to alleged blank items in the bicameral committee report. The oral argument is scheduled for April 1.
Marcos dismissed the case as a “destabilization” attempt against his administration, claiming he did not find blank items in the over 4,000-page expenditure plan after reviewing it.
ALSO READ: Petition against 2025 national budget a ‘destabilization’ attempt, claims Marcos
On December 30, he signed into law this year’s P6.326 trillion national budget, a slight decrease from his administration’s proposed P6.352 trillion after he vetoed line items worth P194 billion. He later admitted that the approved amount was “suboptimal.”
Minority lawmakers and progressive groups slammed Marcos for signing the national budget amid allegations of misallocations and anomalies, including restoring the P26 billion of Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), the pet project of Romualdez.
ALSO READ: Ex-senator urges DBM to reveal amendments in national budget amid pork barrel concerns
They claimed that AKAP could be used to finance the campaigns of candidates allied with Romualdez and Marcos.
(AAD)
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