Bersamin: Supreme Court won’t nullify 2025 budget

Manila Bulletin

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin is confident that the Supreme Court (SC) would not nullify the P6.235-trillion 2025 national budget, citing the need for the government to function.  READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/1/24/bersamin-SC-wont-nullify-2025budget  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00So, I would just like to relay to you that the President is really in earnest in seeing

00:07to the proper implementation of the budget, the surviving parts of the budget because

00:14as you know, there were several items that were subjected to veto or to conditional implementation.

00:23Q. Sir, may we have your reaction to what Rep. Ungab said that he plans to bring to the Supreme Court this issue of veto?

00:34A. I cannot stop Congressman Ungab and similarly minded people who would want to put up a challenge.

00:46Our problem there is that we will not be responsible if there is a lack in that because it is a BICAM report.

00:57We have nothing to do with the BICAM report.

01:00We only have to do with the finished product that was signed by the President, not the blank check.

01:10Q. Sorry, Secretary, E.S. Bersman, Sir.

01:13Did you discuss in your forum what will be the implication of the looming legal constitutional challenges in the budget?

01:24A. We still do not know what the complexion of the challenges will be.

01:31We are just receiving this from the media that there will be challenges.

01:37But until we see the actual complexion of whatever challenges may be mounted, it is speculative for us to say or comment on any of them.

01:51Q. But what will be the scenario should it come to that, that there will be a legal challenge in the budget and then the Supreme Court steps in and declares it unconstitutional?

02:01How will it happen in our budget?

02:04A. The Supreme Court will never stop the budget from being implemented.

02:09I 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, because the government must function, must be run.

02:25Now, they will say, fall back on the re-enacted budget.

02:29But 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.

02:41But that is yet to be in the end of the year or maybe when this resolution of these challenges will have been delivered.

02:51But right now, the government must continue to function.

02:55There is a duly approved budget subject to all those that were vetoed the items.

03:01As we have been clearly telling, the effect of the veto is only to reduce the deficit, because that is all that the veto has as a consequence.

03:19The realignments will happen only later on in the spending process.

03:49The PBBM and our President are aware of the so-called blank items.

03:53That is why it is our job to go back to our President so that each agency can continue to talk to each other

04:01so that the projects and programs that were affected by the vetoed budgets can be addressed.

04:11Let us get out of your consciousness that we have something to do with the blank pages that you are saying.

04:23That is why we resented so much the impression that the President was given a blank check.

04:31We have nothing to do with that.

04:33That is internal to the Congress.

04:36And that is why we also respect the boundaries by not commenting on who is to be blamed or not.

04:44But I am sure that we did not benefit at all from the blank spaces that are being peddled around.

04:54That is why we are saying that it is fake news.

04:56Because the President is being asked to fill up.

05:00Even if that is not what they said, that is the impression they want to give to the public

05:06which is very wrong, very malicious.

05:10That is why I came out with a very strong statement there.

05:12And the President was very blunt also in saying that whatever the former President was saying about this is a lie.

05:22I want the people to know that we have nothing to do with that.

05:26Ask the Congressmen and Senators.

05:30And that is all that we can say at this point.

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