President Marcos is confident that the government will be able to craft “a good, clean budget” for next year as Congress continues its deliberations on the proposed national spending plan.

“Even now, upon resumption of the budget hearings, marami nang nakita in both Houses, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate na magkakaroon pa tayo ng savings (both Houses, in both the House of Representatives and the Senate are seeing that we will able to have savings),” Marcos told reporters in a media interview in Busan, following his participation Asia-Pacific Economic Leaders (APEC) Summit.

“I think we will be able to show that it is, in fact, possible to write a good, clean budget,” Marcos added.

The President emphasized that the government must make it increasingly difficult for unscrupulous officials to manipulate processes and steal funds from public coffers.

“Kahit anong gawin mo maghahanap ng paraan ‘yan para lokohin ang gobyerno ("No matter what you do, they’ll find a way to trick the government). But if the systems are in place you make it harder and harder for those people to do ‘yung nangungurakot. Make it harder and harder for them to do,” Marcos said.

“The harder it becomes, the smaller the number of people who are still operating under corrupt practices. So, it’s an ongoing thing. It’s not something that you can solve with one fell swoop,” he stressed.

Marcos noted that the government’s focus is on reducing the cost of materials for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and identifying potential savings in its projects.

He has earlier ordered the DPWH and other agencies to cut construction material costs by up to 50 percent in order to save the government at least P30 to P45 billion, which will be redirected to vital sectors such as health, education, and food.