Caloocan 2nd District Rep. Egay Erice on Monday described the alleged irregularities in the national budget as the “greatest heist” in the country’s history and called for a full investigation.

During a press conference at Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City, on Monday, Feb. 16. Erice said the country is facing a serious crisis.

“Yung bansa po natin ngayon talagang nasa crossroad at nasa crisis (Our country is now at a crossroads and in crisis),” Erice said.

He claimed that from 2023 to 2025, about P1.45 trillion worth of insertions, diversions, and amendments were made to the national budget.

“This is the greatest heist in the history of national budget and infrastructure sa ating bansa (This is the greatest heist in the history of the national budget and infrastructure in our country),” the lawmaker stressed.

“For the first three years of the Marcos administration, P1.45 trillion were insertions, diversions, and amendments,” he added.

Erice alleged that in 2023, around P300 billion worth of projects were replaced; in 2024, P500 billion were removed from the President’s proposed budget; and in 2025, another P473 billion were taken out and replaced.

He questioned how these alleged changes were allowed to pass, noting that the national budget undergoes months of review before reaching Congress.

“Ang national budget po ay napakasagrado (The national budget is sacred),” he emphasized.

Erice also linked the alleged anomalies to the country’s economic slowdown, pointing out that GDP growth in 2025 reached 4.4 percent, below the 5.7 percent target.

“Bagsak ang GDP from 5.7 percent target, 4.4 po ngayong 2025 (GDP fell short of the 5.7 percent target, reaching only 4.4 percent this 2025),” he said.

He further claimed that public spending has slowed due to delays in infrastructure bidding.

“Hanggang ngayon po, wala pong public spending sapagkat walang bidding sa infrastructure (Until now, there has been no public spending because there is no bidding for infrastructure projects),” Erice said.

He warned that thousands of construction workers could be affected and urged authorities to pursue the investigation and ensure accountability.

“Kaya po, mahalaga na hindi matuldukan ang imbestigasyon dito sa pinakamalaking korupsyon na nangyari sa ating bansa (It is important that the investigation into what could be the biggest corruption in our country’s history does not stop),” he added.