Palace rejects Erice’s claim of zero funding for his district: Mema lang

MANILA, Philippines — Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on Monday denied Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar “Egay” Erice’s claim that Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon planned to allocate zero funding to his district under the proposed 2027 national budget.

Erice said in a television interview that his district had not received funding for infrastructure projects over the past year, which he attributed to political issues.

“Secretary Vince supposedly said he would give me zero [funding],” Erice said in a Bilyonaryo News Channel interview.

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READ: Palace slams Erice over ‘theories’ on Marcos, Romualdez

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Castro said she immediately sought clarification from Dizon, who denied making such a statement.

“The first thing I did was to refrain from making any immediate comment. Instead, I personally called Secretary Vince Dizon and informed him of what Congressman Erice had said in an interview. Secretary Vince Dizon refuted the claim, stating that he had not spoken to Congressman Erice regarding the accusation,” Castro said in Filipino at a briefing.

She also said Erice’s statements could not damage the government, particularly if they were based on fake news and had no basis.

“There is no reason for anyone to fear him, and this government is not afraid of any criticism. Whatever messages our fellow citizens convey are received and looked into by the president so he can identify what is lacking and what needs to be done,” she said.

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Castro also criticized Erice over his remark in a One News interview that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statements about jailing former Speaker Martin Romualdez were merely for “optics.”

Erice said, “I don’t think that the president can afford to jail former Speaker Romualdez dahil laglagan na ‘yan (that could lead to everyone turning on each other).”

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Castro, however, said the government bases its actions on evidence.

“Tayo po ay bumabase mismo kung ano ang ating dala-dalang ebidensiya, kung ano ang mayroon tayo at hindi po tayo dito pamema lang. So, iyon ang pinakaimportante dito ebidensiya,” she said.

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(We base our actions on the evidence we have and what is available to us. We are not just making empty claims. Evidence is the most important thing here.) /mcm