House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos on Wednesday dismissed allegations that General Santos City and Sarangani were completely cut off from state allocations for social services and operational costs.
The statement came after Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste claimed that the two areas received no funding for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) and government welfare initiatives.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a special House session, Marcos directly challenged the validity of Leviste’s claims regarding the zero-MOOE allegation.
“Ma’am, parang kwento-kwento lang ‘yan, walang, there’s no such thing as zero MOOE. There’s no such thing as zero budget either,” Marcos said.
When journalists brought up Leviste’s specific claim that General Santos City was denied funding for the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program, Marcos called the assertion highly improbable.
“Ma’am, that’s impossible. Sa’n mo ‘yan narinig?” Marcos said. “Ipa-verify mo muna dapat.”
Marcos questioned whether the allegations had been independently fact-checked by the press.
Upon learning no prior verification had taken place, the lawmaker stressed the necessity of reviewing government records before treating political statements as factual.
“Okay, so next time, ma’am, i-verify muna natin bago natin itanong, parang hindi lang kwento. Okay?” Marcos asserted.
The House Majority Leader concluded by stating that no congressional district is being stripped of its standard financial allocations, expressing deep skepticism that a major urban hub would be excluded from the national budget.
“So next time let’s just verify kasi, before that, kwento-kwento lang ‘yan. As far as I know, po, wala pong zero na gano’n. Lalo na sa GenSan? Who would be so stupid to do that?” Marcos added.
The issue stems from a June 15 interview where Leviste alleged that select legislative districts were entirely bypassed during the distribution of local government operating budgets and emergency welfare funds.