Palace: Marcos Jr. blameless in flood control project anomalies

Malacañang asserted that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is blameless regarding anomalies in flood control projects.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro stated that Marcos would not have ordered an investigation if he were personally involved in wrongdoing.

She emphasized that the President was the first to advocate a thorough investigation into the alleged anomalies, which include ghost flood control projects and the misuse of public funds.

Castro explained that Marcos trusts his Cabinet secretaries and that the 2025 budget, which he signed, had items vetoed after review by the economic team.

Former Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo claimed an official from the Department of Education demanded a 15 percent commission for the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin has denied this allegation, stating it is not true.

Budget watchdogs, however, said that with the President approving the pork-infested budgets of the past three years, he played a primary role in the manipulation of the yearly allocations.