Malacañang said that savings generated by withholding funds from questionable infrastructure projects were used to bankroll the government's UPLIFT program and other interventions aimed at cushioning Filipinos from the impact of the Middle East crisis.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said President Marcos was referring to these savings when he declared in his fifth SONA that the government had saved public funds that "almost ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials."

In a press briefing on Thursday, July 29, Castro said the President ordered stricter scrutiny of infrastructure spending following last year's SONA, resulting in the withholding of funding for projects deemed questionable or unnecessary.

"Noong nagsalita po ang Pangulo noong nakaraang SONA, noong sinabi niyang 'Mahiya naman kayo,' ay mas naging mapanuri upang hindi agad ma-release ang pondo intended for infrastructure, especially sa flood control projects dahil nga nagkaroon ng pag-iimbestiga (When the President delivered his previous SONA and said, 'You should be ashamed,' there was greater scrutiny so that funds intended for infrastructure, especially flood control projects, would not be immediately released because an investigation was underway),” she said.

She said projects that failed to meet government standards were not funded, generating savings later tapped to respond to the effects of the Middle East conflict.

"At dahil sa savings po na nagawa dahil hindi nga sa pag-release ng mga pondo sa mga proyektong kuwestiyunable, ito po ang nagamit para ipantustos sa pangangailangan para maibsan ang impact sa mga kababayan natin patungkol sa krisis sa Middle East (Because of the savings generated from not releasing funds for questionable projects, these were used to finance measures to lessen the impact of the Middle East crisis on our countrymen),” Castro said.

In his fifth SONA on Monday, July 27, President Marcos said the government redirected public funds to programs that directly benefited Filipinos, declaring, "we saved public funds that almost ended up in the pockets of corrupt officials.”

Asked whether the savings included flood control appropriations removed and realigned under the proposed 2026 national budget, Castro said the President was referring only to savings generated from unreleased 2025 projects.

"Sa ating pagkakaalam ay ito pa lang ay galing sa 2025 na savings, at tingnan pa po natin kung ano iyong pinakadetalye patungkol dito. Pero ito iyong mga 2025 na hindi nasagawa (As far as we know, these are from the 2025 savings, and we will still look into the specific details. But these refer to projects in 2025 that were not implemented),” she said.

In his address, President Marcos said all government agencies were instructed to tighten spending and prioritize programs that would address the effects of the global energy crisis triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.

The President said the administration "poured funds where they were most needed" and redirected savings to frontline services, including assistance for overseas Filipino workers, transport workers, farmers and fisherfolk, as well as other interventions under the UPLIFT program.

Marcos also said the administration had earlier halted payments for "defective, fake or imaginary projects" and frozen or recovered billions of pesos linked to the government's investigation into anomalous flood control projects.