Manila: The alleged 'leadership fund' at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was never authorized by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. or his economic team, was not part of his instructions to former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, and was not included in the approved national budget, Malaca±ang said Monday.
According to Philippines News Agency, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos personally told her that he never discussed such a fund with Bonoan, who earlier testified about the alleged arrangement involving lawmakers from both houses of Congress and DPWH projects. 'Sinabi po niya na wala talaga itong pinag-usapan (He said that this was never discussed at all),' Castro said.
The clarification came after Bonoan's testimony and affidavit linked the alleged fund to supposed instructions from Marcos to address reductions in priority projects resulting from legislative insertions. Bonoan said the fund was created in 2024 to prevent drastic cuts to core agency programs by pre-allocating funds for lawmakers' pet projects. Senators and district representatives allegedly received at least PHP500 million each, while party-list representatives received PHP150 million.
Castro said Marcos' discussions with Bonoan focused on identifying projects based on the actual needs of communities. 'Ang pondo ibinibigay sa proyekto, hindi sa tao (The funds are given to projects, not to certain personalities),' she said. She said Marcos instructed Bonoan to ensure that projects were properly selected and equitably distributed based on the needs of local communities.
Castro stressed that the President's directive was never to create a fund for lawmakers but to ensure that government resources were directed to projects that would benefit the public. She also said the alleged leadership fund was not included in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The Palace also verified the matter with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), while members of the economic team likewise denied knowledge of such a fund, Castro said. 'Kung mayroon man silang pag-uusap among themselves dito sa DPWH, hindi po ito kailanman naging programa ng Pangulo (If they had discussions among themselves at the DPWH, this was never a program of the President),' she said.
Castro said Marcos' instruction to Bonoan was simply to ensure that the DPWH properly performed its mandate. 'Ang gusto niyang sabihin kay Secretary Manny Bonoan, 'ayusin mo ang trabaho (What he wanted to tell Secretary Manny Bonoan was, 'do your job properly'),' she said.
Castro also rejected the suggestion that Marcos was merely 'bypassed' by people under him who may have been involved in irregularities, stressing that the Palace immediately ordered an investigation after learning of anomalies at the DPWH. 'Dahil mali na iyong report ni Secretary Manny Bonoan, ang ginawa agad ng Pangulo, nagpa-imbestiga (Because the report of Secretary Manny Bonoan was wrong, the President immediately ordered an investigation),' she said. She added that Marcos does not tolerate alleged irregularities and wants those responsible to be held accountable.
Meanwhile, Castro said the Palace has not discussed whether Bonoan should become a state witness in cases involving the alleged infrastructure irregularities. She said the matter would depend on the courts and prosecutors, including the Office of the Ombudsman and state prosecutors.
