Palace defends budget insertions for Sandro

MANILA, Philippines —Malacañang yesterday defended insertions in the version of the P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027 approved by the House of Representatives, saying there is nothing wrong with them as long as they benefit the public.

Palace press officer Claire Castro made the assertion when asked to comment on presidential son, House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos’ P4-billion budget for his district’s public works projects under the House General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

“If a congressman’s projects are well-executed and the allocated funds are used properly, who would oppose this, especially when these funds are sufficient to improve a district,” Castro said at a press briefing in Cagayan de Oro City.

“So, regardless of who the congressman is, as long as the funds allocated to their district are used properly – with no ghost projects and no substandard materials – there shouldn’t be any issues. An insertion is not inherently bad. It only becomes problematic when the funds are inserted into the politician’s own pocket – that is what is wrong,” she added.

Budget watchdog People’s Budget Coalition (PBC) said the House-approved 2027 version of next year’s budget contains “red flag” levels of insertions worth over P1 trillion, including around 7,000 infrastructure projects totaling P190 billion.

Marcos topped the list of Department of Public Works and Highways projects “inserted” in the House GAB, with 405 projects worth P4.37 billion going to the 1st district of Ilocos Norte, the group said.

According to PBC’s Kenneth Isaiah, the lawmakers “padded” numerous infrastructure projects without any details.

In the House version, the DPWH budget for multi-purpose buildings and access roads and bridges was augmented by P43 billion, Abante told the Senate committee on finance on Monday.  – Delon Porcalla, Bella Cariaso