Magalong dares COA, Ombudsman to start probe on budget scandal

"No one, no matter how high in office or powerful, should be above the law"

On Oct 27, 2026

BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong being congratulated by President Marcos Jr. and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla after his city won the 'Galing Pook Award,' Malacañang Palace, October 21, 2026 (photo from his FB page).

BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong dared the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Ombudsman (OMB) to start the probe on those government officials involved in the preparation, deliberation and approval of the country’s national budgets covering the past three years and found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

In a statement in the vernacular posted on his social media page on October 26, Magalong said the decision raises “serious questions” as regards accountability and the proper manner in spending the public’s money. He is the first local official to challenge the two independent and constitutional bodies to investigate the anomaly as of this writing.

“As a public servant, I maintain that faithfulness, accountability and abiding with the Constitution should prevail in all levels of the government,” he said.

Known for his integrity, Magalong discarded his chance to become the director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the Aquino administration in return for “going soft” on his investigation on who should be made accountable for the massacre of 44 members of the PNP’s Special Action Force during a bungled police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, in January 2015.

Mayor Benjie Magalong during another inspection of Baguio City to ensure public safety and comfort (photo from his FB page).

Deliberated by the SC magistrates on October 7 but released to the public on October 20, the SC ruled that the 2024 and 2025 approved budgets were “unconstitutional,” including a portion of the current 2026 national budget (see related article here).

The ruling directly relates to the multi-trillion flood control project scam that has been hounding the administration for some two years now and came out more than a year after Magalong resigned from the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) in September 2025.

Magalong decided to resign from the ICI—formed to probe the flood control project scam—after Malacañang expressed its disdain on his seriousness to go after those involved.

Magalong said he is now calling for the COA to conduct a “special audit” on the amount identified in the SC decision– ₱449.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriation under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), ₱17.99 billion increase in the Special Road Fund under the 2025 GAA and the ₱12.75 billion increase in the Special Accounts of the General Fund (SAGF) under the 2026 GAA.

Although Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced he has formed a special “budget watch group” to review the ruling and identified possible violators, Magalong said the OMB’s probe should be “independent and meticulous” in order to identify government officials who should answer before the law.

“Public fund should always be used for the benefit of the people. No one, no matter how high in office or powerful, should be above the law,” Magalong stressed.

“We owe our taxpayers the entire truth. We are obliged to answer their question on where every peso of their money was spent,” he added.