Palace: Marcos had no involvement in ‘leadership fund’

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Monday reiterated that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had no involvement in the so-called “leadership fund,” saying it was never part of the budget he signed into law.

At a briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro noted that even if the fund’s existence within the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is proven, this does not necessarily mean that Marcos was aware of it.

READ: Marcos unaware of alleged DPWH ‘leadership fund,’ says Palace

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“Kung mayron man silang pag-uusap among themselves dito sa DPWH, hindi po ito kailanman naging programa ng  Pangulo. At hindi po nakalagay ang ‘leadership fund’ sa GAA [General Appropriations Act]. Iyan din po ang itinanong natin mismo sa DBM [Department of Budget and Management]. Wala pong leadership fund dito sa GAA,” Castro said.

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(If they had any discussions among themselves within the DPWH, this was never a program of the President. And the “leadership fund” is not included in the GAA. We also asked the DBM directly about this. There is no “leadership fund” in the GAA.)

Citing a recent conversation with Marcos, Castro said that whenever the President spoke with then-Public Works Secretary Manny Bonoan and asked for a report, Marcos would specifically inquire about the projects actually needed in a particular area.

“Ang utos nga niya ay dapat maging maayos ang lahat ng proyekto. Ayaw kong sabihing pinagalitan si Secretary Manny Bonoan, pero noong huli kaming nag-usap ng Pangulo sa mukha niya, iyon ang gusto niyang sabihin kay Secretary Manny Bonoan ‘ayusin mo ang trabaho,’” the Palace official said.

(His directive was that all the projects should be properly implemented. I don’t want to say that Secretary Manny Bonoan was reprimanded, but the last time I spoke with the President face-to-face, that was what he wanted to tell Secretary Manny Bonoan: “Do your job properly.”)

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Meanwhile, there have been no discussions yet on whether Bonoan could be considered a state witness.

“Depende na po iyan sa korte, depende na po iyan sa prosecution, sa Ombudsman, sa state prosecutors, pero hindi po napag-uusapan ang patungkol sa isyu kugn kinakailangang maging state witness si Secretary Manny Bonoan,” said Castro.

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(That will depend on the court, the prosecution, the Ombudsman, and the state prosecutors. But the issue of whether Secretary Manny Bonoan needs to become a state witness has not been discussed.)

Bonoan testified in court on Aug. 12 that all senators in the 19th Congress allegedly availed of at least P500 million each under the “leadership fund” during his tenure.

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He said DPWH officials like Roberto Bernardo, the agency’s former undersecretary for operations, submitted the lists of priority projects. /jpv