Marcos: Funds enough for key projects if corruption is curbed

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

MANILA, Philippines —President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government has enough funds to support priority projects of his administration, as long as these funds are not lost to corruption.

He said this in Part 2 of the third episode of the PBBM Podcast, titled “Sa Likod ng Sona,” which aired on Wednesday.

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In the podcast, Marcos was asked whether the Philippines has sufficient funds to sustain projects he mentioned in his recent State of the Nation Address (Sona), to which he responded in the affirmative.

“Yes, there is. As long as the money of the Philippines is used properly. The money allocated for this – for classrooms – is actually used for classrooms,” Marcos said.

“It didn’t say two classrooms, but only one was built. The rest was pocketed. Things like that,” he continued.

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Marcos then stressed, “‘If we’re really strict and our funds are used properly, then we have.”

In his Sona last July 28, the President laid out several priority programs for education, health, infrastructure, and other sectors.

These include the ongoing P20/kilo rice program, zero-balance billing for patients at Department of Health-listed hospitals, Bulilit Centers, and more. /mr