Imee Marcos urges PBBM to release P1.3 trillion 'for later release' gov't funds
By Dhel Nazario
Senator Imee Marcos on Monday called on the President to immediately release all funds tagged as “For Later Release” (FLR) under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), citing the urgency of completing long-delayed public projects and ensuring transparency in government spending.
Senator Imee Marcos (Facebook)
Following President Marcos' call during his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) to strengthen performance reviews and audits of government-funded projects, Marcos expressed support for her brother’s mandate while stressing the importance of releasing budget allocations already approved by Congress.
“Huwag na nating patagalin at tenggahin ang mga proyektong talagang para sa tao. Ibigay na ang mga pondong naka-FLR upang matapos na at ’di masayang ang mga proyekto at marepaso ang mga dapat marepaso (Let’s not delay projects that are truly for the people. Funds placed under FLR should be released immediately),” Marcos said in a statement.
She emphasized that the performance review of government programs should be conducted in conjunction with the timely release of funds, particularly for projects that have already commenced and are highly anticipated by the public.
In his SONA, the President stated that the Regional Project Monitoring Committee shall examine the list of projects and give a report on those that have been failures, those that were not finished, and those that are alleged to be ghost projects.
At the same time, he added there will be an audit and performance review regarding these projects to check and make sure, and to know how your money was spent
According to Imee, the FLR-tagged funds are not limited to infrastructure but span various government departments and agencies. These include supplemental funds added by the legislature to existing programs in key sectors such as agriculture, education, health, and public works.
Initial reports from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) show that FLR-designated funds amount to ₱1.3 trillion.
“Responsibilidad ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno na tiyakin ang dokumentasyon at integridad ng lahat ng proyekto (It’s the responsibility of all agencies to ensure their projects are properly documented and legitimate),” Marcos said.
“Siguraduhin nating kumpleto sa papeles ang mga proyekto—‘yung totoo at hindi mga walang kwentang ghost projects (Let’s make sure these are real, paper-complete initiatives—not useless ghost projects),” she added.