FACT CHECK: Marcos did not call for SC shutdown over budget ruling

A 2025 video resurfaces out of context, falsely presented as a recent pronouncement by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. against the SC President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not express a desire to shut down the Supreme Court after its ruling on the national budgets; this claim is false. The claim originated from a video that misrepresented Marcos's comments, which were taken out of context regarding government operations. The Supreme Court recently ruled parts of the 2024 and 2025 national budgets unconstitutional, prompting a response from the Palace, which disagreed with the ruling and plans to seek reconsideration. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he wants to shut down the Supreme Court (SC) after it ruled parts of the 2024 to 2026 national budgets unconstitutional. Rating: FALSE Why we fact-checked this: A video posted by Facebook user Ka’abs on October 24 claims, in overlaid text, that Marcos is speaking to reporters while being asked about a petition to the SC regarding the 2025 national budget. The text reads, “Dahil sa pagbunyag ng Supreme Court ng kabulastugan mo” and “Ngayon gusto mo ipa-shutdown ang Supreme Court, ano ka hilo?” (Because the Supreme Court exposed your wrongdoing, now you want the SC shut down. What’s wrong with you?) The caption repeats the text, followed by raised-fist and crocodile emojis. As of writing, the video has garnered over 795,000 views, 10,000 reactions, 3,400 comments, and 2,900 shares. The facts: No Palace statement or credible report shows Marcos seeking the SC’s shutdown. The clip’s original context shows he was referring to government operations. The part of him saying that everything will be “shut down” was taken out of context from a January 2025 video, and sensationalized. The original video shows an interview with Marcos in Cebu City, where he was asked what his administration would do if the SC ruled in favor of voiding the 2025 national budget. He answered, “No, we shut down everything.” This was after former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez and Davao Representative Isidro Ungab asked the Court to void the 2025 national budget. He then accused the petitioners of wanting “the government to cease working” so their “destabilization” could continue. He added that the solicitor general had assured him the budget was constitutionally sound. Rodriguez countered that the government would operate under a reenacted budget and “will never shut down.” Recent SC ruling: The clip resurfaced after the SC’s October 20 ruling on the 2024 and 2025 General Appropriations Acts as unconstitutional. On October 21, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Malacañang disagreed with parts of the ruling and had directed the Office of the Solicitor General to seek reconsideration. She added that the decision was not yet final, so spending under the 2026 budget would continue. In a 121-page decision written by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Court voted 13-2 to declare Congress’ P449.5-billion increase in 2024 unprogrammed appropriations and a P17.99-billion increase in the 2025 DPWH Special Road Fund as unconstitutional. It also struck down the SAGIP lump-sum allocations in the 2024 and 2025 budgets and key unprogrammed appropriations provisions in the 2026 budget. The SC ruled that the lower chamber committed grave abuse of discretion by exceeding the constitutional cap on the President’s recommended appropriations. It applied the doctrine of operative fact, which protects spending already made in good faith. (READ: 5 practical effects of SC ruling on unprogrammed appropriations) Court spokesperson Camille Ting said the ruling is not yet final, and the solicitor general may file a motion for reconsideration within 15 days from notice. Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco said the ruling could prompt new impeachment complaints against Marcos once the one-year bar expires in February. – Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com Efren Cyril Bocar is a journalist from Llorente, Eastern Samar who graduated with a degree in English Language Studies at the Visayas State University. Cyril is also a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024. Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time. How does this make you feel? Loading