MALACAÑANG slammed the alleged attempt of Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Edgar R. Erice to politicize the allocation of P500 million from the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) for the upgrading of the Naga City Stadium.
Erice had implied that the release of the funds for the project was an attempt by the Marcos administration to win over Naga City Mayor Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo as an ally.
Robredo ran against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the 2022 presidential election but lost.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro called Erice’s statements ‘irresponsible,’ saying they were a ‘malicious’ attempt to twist the facts.
‘Let us not misinterpret the positive relationship being fostered between the national and local governments; not everything the national government does is driven by politics, unlike what they do,’ Castro said.
The Presidential Communications Office official stressed that Naga City was not the only local government unit that benefited from the LGSF.
‘Providing assistance to the local government should not be based on political affiliation; whatever the local government needs, that is what we can address, provided it is within our capacity,’ Castro said.