The Philippines did not spend 90 percent of its national budget in the first four months of the year, contrary to false claims online. Experts told AFP the number cited in the social media posts refers to money allocated to individual departments — not actual spending — and that the government often plans its borrowing earlier in the year to profit from lower interest rates.
The claim stems from a May 18, 2025 Tagalog-language Facebook post published by Jay Sonza, a former broadcaster and supporter of former president Rodrigo Duterte who has previously spread misinformation debunked by AFP.
Sonza says the Philippine government is “out of money”, as 90 percent of the year’s national budget — which stands at a record 6.33 trillion pesos (around US$114 billion) — had already been “released” by April (archived link).
“It’s only May, and the government only has 10 percent of its funds left,” he adds, pointing to government borrowing in February and April as signs of financial depletion.
The claim surfaced a week after the Philippine mid-term elections on May 12, which delivered disappointing results for President Ferdinand Marcos’s party (archived link).
Seen as a referendum on the current administration, the polls saw only six of the 11 Marcos-endorsed candidates win Senate seats (archived link).
They will join 12 incumbent senators as jurors in the impeachment trial of embattled Vice President Sara Duterte, which could see the Marcos rival permanently barred from public office if convicted.
The claim has spread in similar posts on Facebook, drawing comments from users who believed the government had indeed depleted its annual budget.
“Where did all that money go?” one said.
Another commented: “We must hold another People Power to replace them,” alluding to the peaceful uprising that toppled the dictatorship of the president’s late father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The elder Marcos’s 20-year rule left the country impoverished, with an estimated US$10 billion stolen from state coffers (archived link).
But multiple experts told AFP the claim misrepresents how the government plans and uses the national budget.
Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.