00:00Malacanang once again falsified the issue of blank items in the General Appropriations Act.
00:08The palace also clarified that it will not stop anyone from complaining if they are here.
00:14Meanwhile, NEDA called that the economic performance of the Philippines has become too high despite the challenges.
00:22This is what Kenneth Paciente wrote.
00:24Let's get out of your consciousness that we have something to do with the blank pages that you are saying.
00:36That is why we resented so much the impression that the president was given a blank check.
00:44We have nothing to do with that. It's internal to the congress.
00:48This is what Malacanang once again falsified the issue of what the palace has to do with the blank items issued in the 2025 national budget.
00:58Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin falsified that the executive branch has no role, especially the president, in the so-called blank pages of the General Appropriations Act.
01:09I'm sure that we did not benefit at all from the blank spaces that are being peddled around.
01:18That is why we are saying that it is fake news because the president is being forced to fill up.
01:26Even if that is not what they said, that is the impression they want to give to the public which is very wrong, very malicious.
01:35But even if he has a legal action to question the national budget, it is still a secret.
01:41I will not stop Congressman Ungang and similarly minded people who want to put up a challenge.
01:52Our problem there is that we will not be the ones to answer if there is a lack in that because that is a BICAM report.
02:03We have nothing to do with the BICAM report.
02:06We only have to do with the finished product that was signed by the president, not the blank check.
02:15Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro Ungab said that they plan to raise the issue in the Supreme Court.
02:22However, as a former Supreme Court magistrate, Bersamin believes that the Supreme Court will not stop the implementation of the 2025 National Budget.
02:32I cannot understand if the Supreme Court will have that tendency to put a stop to it even if any of those challengers will ask for a TRO.
02:43Because the government must function, must be run.
02:46Now, they will say fall back on the re-enacted budget.
02:51But the re-enacted budget can come only when there is a finding that it has been vetoed or the Supreme Court has nullified the present budget.
03:03The DBM said that the government agencies have a P30 billion fund that they must pay after they have paid their funds.
03:12They will do this in a way so that the service for the Filipinos will not be affected by the use of some mechanisms.
03:20So that is augmentation, savings and UA and the last is another fund, the use of contingent fund of our president.
03:32These are new projects and urgent projects that can be requested by our department heads.
03:39Of course, we will ask for necessary documentation.
03:42Again, the office of the president will approve the contingent fund.
03:47Those are the only three that we can use.
03:50Meanwhile, in front of the challenges that the country is facing, NEDA once again emphasized that the country's economic performance remains impressive.
03:58We fall short of the target but that's understandable as I said because of the external and domestic factors that are outside our control.
04:10But nonetheless, the performance of the economy was still quite impressive compared to our neighbors in the entire Asia.
04:19We are still second and third among the major emerging economies in Asia as a top performer.
04:28The 2025 Budget Execution Workshop was held today.
04:32The agencies went to different platforms to discuss the proper use of their funds.
04:38Based on the directive of President Marcos Jr., Kenneth Paciente.
