Several Facebook (FB) posts are claiming that P4.1 trillion out of the P6.3-trillion national budget for 2025 has been disbursed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This is misleading. The amount was distributed among different government agencies, not to the president.
Various FB pages posted a quote card insinuating Marcos pocketed the released GAA funds. It reads:
“DBM released 64.9% of the national budget last Jan. 31, 2025 to PBBM
P4.1 Trillion of the P6.33 Trillion 2025 full-year program has been released as of Jan. 31, 2025. The balance remaining for the year is now at Php 2.22 Trillion.”
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported that 64.9% or P4.1 trillion of the P6.3 trillion 2025 national budget had indeed been released as of the end of January. However, this amount was distributed among different departments, agencies and projects.
The released amount for 2025 is less than the 77.9% disbursement rate in January 2024.
According to the DBM report, most government agencies have received their funds for the year. The unreleased P2.22 trillion will go to special purpose funds, pensions of former presidents and the government’s interest payments and tax obligations.
The misleading posts echo a claim made by former executive secretary Victor Rodriguez in a Facebook livestream last Feb. 19. Rodriguez filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Jan. 27 to declare the 2025 GAA unconstitutional over the alleged blank items in the bicameral conference committee report, among other grievances.
Rodriguez is running for the Senate under Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban), chaired by former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The post was first uploaded by blogger Flat Chic (created Nov. 19, 2021) on Feb. 21. The post garnered over 1,000 reactions, 248 comments and 2,600 shares. The image was then reposted by a page pretending to be former broadcaster Jay Sonza, where it reached over 2,500 reactions, 454 comments and 873 shares.
The image was also shared to the groups PHILIPPINE FEDERAL MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL and Rodante Marcoleta for Senator.
