Media fails to explain 2025 budget fiasco

JEERS TO several media outlets for hyping what former president Rodrigo Duterte had to say about the alleged discrepancies in the bicameral conference committee report (bicam report) on the 2025 national budget. These quoted Duterte and and Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab who claimed that there were blank items in the said report, not pointing out the different documents involved in producing the budget process. 

On January 18, Duterte and Ungab in an episode of the podcast “Basta Dabawenyo” claimed there were blank items in the bicam report. Ungab pointed out the missing budget amounts for items under the Department of Agriculture and unprogrammed appropriations. Duterte said that these blanks made the 2025 budget invalid. 

Media reports (GMA News Online, Inquirer.net, Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard, Manila Times) from January 19 to January 21 recorded these concerns without question. These did not provide information about the different documents involved in the budget process. The coverage showed up the tendency of media to treat anything that the former president says as newsworthy. 

News accounts did not detail the necessary context that the bicam report is two steps away from the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which when signed by the president becomes the General Appropriations Act (GAA). 

CMFR previously noted that despite his claim of retiring from politics, Duterte has consistently managed to stay in the news, with the media readily picking up his every statement and public appearance. The bicam report coverage highlighted the media’s vulnerability to echoing what he says without checking the accuracy or veracity of his words, which leads to misleading or false narratives. 

Media’s continuing fixation on Duterte must be checked as it gives significance to statements uttered by someone who has no position nor credentials to lend his judgment with legitimacy or authority. 

Reports with context 

CMFR notes the exemptions in the reports of 24 Oras and the Philippine Daily Inquirer referred to the budget process and provided context through explainers and interviews. These news accounts were produced days after the reports about Duterte and Ungab’s claims came out.   

24 Oras’ explainer by Jonathan Andal on January 21 clarified that the bicam report when ratified becomes the “basis of the GAB.” The GAB is then submitted to the president, and once signed, it becomes the GAA.   

A Philippine Daily Inquirer news report by Krixia Subingsubing on January 23 also pointed out the need for the scrutiny of the three budget documents to determine whether “there were irregularities in filling out the blanks.”

Another explainer of 24 Oras by Ivan Mayrina on January 25  interviewed Dan Gatmaitan, a constitutional law professor at the University of the Philippines, who noted that insertions nor deletions in the bicam report are not allowed after the ratification of the bicam committee. The report also noted that the bicam report and the enrolled bill should be the same. 

Indeed, the budget has been criticized as flawed and anti-Filipino. The budget is known to be an instrument for political gains. Its coverage calls for scrutiny and attention, with the media drawing from a pool of respected and knowledgeable experts. 

If the media continuously falls for the gimmicks of the Dutertes, they might end up sending a message that could do more harm than good.