Malacañang said the Convergence and Special Support Program (CSSP) under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) existed even before the Marcos administration, raising questions about claims that it has become a vehicle for major scams.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Tuesday, Aug. 18, that the program has existed under the DPWH and is reflected in national budgets.

She also stressed that it was inaccurate to call it a newly discovered or undisclosed public works fund.

"Itong Convergence and Special Support Program ay matagal na po itong umiiral sa DPWH (The Convergence and Special Support Program has been existing in the DPWH)," Castro said.

"For perspective, the Fiscal Year 2026 General Appropriation Act itself, publicly identifies CSSP as one of DPWH regular programs, along side the asset, preservation program, network development program and bridge program," Castro added.

According to Castro, the existence of the CSSP is not a secret.

"Hindi po ito secret o separate na 1.1 trillion fund (This is not a secret or separate P1.1-trillion fund)," Castro said, referring to the Convergence and Special Support Program.

The Palace spokesperson explained that it is a regular program under the DPWH, with its appropriations and projects reflected in publicly available National Expenditure Programs, the General Appropriations Act (GAA), and other government budget documents.

"In fact, convergence programs did not begin under the Marcos Jr. administration. The approach has existed for more than a decade including the tenure of former Secretary Rogelio Singson)," Castro said.

"As early as 2012 government records already referred to the DOT (Department of Tourism), DPWH convergence program on enhancing tourism access, which supported the construction and improvement of roads, leading the tourism destination," Castro added.

She further said that convergence was precisely intended to allow DPWH to meet the infrastructure requirements of programs undertaken with other government agencies, including access roads and other infrastructure supporting tourism, agriculture, education, health, national security, industry, airports, seaports, and other national priorities.

"The current CSSP is therefore an umbrella program covering different types of infrastructure projects not a single discretionary fund. The Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Alleviating Gaps or SIPAG as well as the Basic Infrastructure Program or BIP have likewise been large under this program," Castro said.

"For perspective, the Fiscal Year 2026 General Appropriation Act itself, publicly identifies CSSP as one of DPWH regular programs, along side the asset, preservation program, network development program and bridge program," she added.

"It is therefore, inaccurate to portray CSSP as a newly discovered or previously undisclosed public works budget," the Palace official further said.

However, if the program was indeed another category for anomalous and ghost projects, it must be backed by facts, Castro said.

"Mas maganda po sana kasi na kapag po tayo ay magbibigay ng anumang negatibo na pananalita, sana may kasama ito na mga basehan para hindi naman agad natin mailigaw ang ating mga kababayan (It would be better if, whenever we make any negative statements, we also provide a basis for them so that we do not immediately mislead our fellow Filipinos)," Castro said in a Palace briefing.

"Dahil kung iyan ang kanyang opinyon lamang, pero wala pa siyang hawak na basehan para sabihin na iyong convergence special support program ay pang-scam, hindi po siya nakakabuti sa proyekto ng gobyerno ( If that is merely his opinion, but he has no evidence to support his claim that the Convergence and Special Support Program is intended for scams, then that does not help the government’s projects)," Castro added.

Former DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson recently revealed that the program, amounting to P1.1 trillion from 2022 to 2024, became another source of scams involving anomalous projects.