29-3-2025 (MANILA) Baguio’s top official, Mayor Benjamin Magalong, finds himself at the centre of a brewing storm after exposing what he describes as a massive electoral funding scheme disguised within the 2025 national budget.
The former police investigator, who built his reputation leading the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, disclosed that he has become the target of credible death threats following his explosive allegations about the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2025. These claims suggest that certain parliamentarians allegedly conspired to modify the bicameral committee’s expenditure report for political gain.
The gravity of these threats has been independently verified by Allen Capuyan, a former military intelligence operative who previously helmed both the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. Capuyan’s assessment has lent substantial weight to the security concerns.
Whilst maintaining his characteristic stoicism in the face of personal danger—a trait developed through years of law enforcement—Magalong expressed profound concern for his family’s wellbeing. His allegations centre on the alleged misappropriation of billions of pesos earmarked for social welfare programmes, suggesting these funds were being redirected for electoral purposes.
The Presidential Palace has responded to these serious accusations with scepticism, challenging the Mayor to substantiate his claims regarding the alleged electoral manipulation of the 2025 GAA, particularly concerning the upcoming May 12 polls. This confrontation marks a significant escalation in what appears to be developing into a major political controversy.
