President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that the national budget could support priority projects in the next three years of his administration through prudent spending without corruption.

“Oo, mayroon. Basta’t ‘yung pera ng Pilipinas ay ginagamit sa tamang paraan. ‘Yung perang nakalaan para sa classroom, ginamit talaga sa classroom,” President Marcos said in the latest episode of the BBM Podcast aired on Wednesday.

“Hindi nakalagay doon, dalawang classroom, ginawa lang isang classroom. Binulsa na ‘yung natira. O ‘yung mga ganoong klase.”

“‘Pag talagang mahigpit tayo at tama ang gamit ‘nung ating pondo, mayroon tayo,” the President added.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, President Marcos laid out several priority programs for education, health, infrastructure, disaster response, military modernization, among others.

President Marcos went on to denounce corruption in public infrastructure projects particularly in flood control, calling out project proponents and contractors for causing entire communities to suffer from recurrent flooding during typhoons and heavy rains.

“Kaya sa mga nakikipagsabwatan para kunin ang mga pondo ng bayan at nakawin ang kinabukasan ng ating mga mamamayan, ‘Mahiya naman kayo sa inyong kapwa Filipino!” the President said in his SONA.

President Marcos ordered a comprehensive audit and transparency of flood control projects in the last three years and called for legal action against individuals found to have misused funds or illegally profited from such projects. | PND