Marcos slams budget tweaks

'We're borrowing money just so these people can steal it'

- By ARGYLL CYRUS B. GEDUCOS

President Marcos continued his tirade against unmeritorious and unnecessary adjustments and insertions in the national budget, stressing his readiness to operate on a reenacted outlay if Congress insists on fund realignments that undermine his administration's priorities.

In the third episode of his podcast released on Monday evening, Aug. 4, the President warned that some reallocations have led to the misuse of public funds and the scrapping of critical foreign-assisted projects.

"The biggest problem is that almost all funding for foreign-assisted projects was scrapped," he said.

"Sobra na yun. Sobra na yun. Nangungutang tayo para mangurakot itong mga ito (That's too much. We're borrowing money just so these people can steal it)," he added.

Marcos said he would return the 2026 General Appropriations Bill if lawmakers made excessive insertions or moved funds toward projects not aligned with the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

"If it's not according to plan, we will have to return it," he said.

He also emphasized that if the two chambers of Congress fail to act responsibly on the budget, he is open to operating under a reenacted 2025 budget.

"Oh yes," Marcos said when asked if he was willing to go that route.