Malacañang allayed fears over the possible use of infrastructure project funds to finance election campaigns, stressing that safeguards are in place to prevent such misuse.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro also stressed that President Marcos will not let it happen.

"[S]a pangamba na ito ay magagamit sa eleksyon, Marami po tayong paraan para makita natin kung may mga proyektong napondohan pero hindi nagawa dahil iyan naman po ang gusto ng ating Pangulo (Regarding the concern that this may be used for the elections, we have many ways to determine whether there are projects that were funded but were not actually implemented, because that is what the President wants)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, Aug. 20.

"Hindi na po nanaisin ng Pangulo na magkaroon ng mga ghost projects na nangyari sa mga nakaraang administrasyon at sa administrasyong kasalukuyan (The President does not want ghost projects to happen, as these occurred in previous administrations and even under the current administration)," Castro added.

The Palace official said this when asked to comment on Senator Panfilo Lacson's warning that the uniform P180-million allocation for the construction of evacuation centers could turn into an early campaign fund, citing lack of location details.

Castro said that according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the absence of specific locations in the fiscal year 2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) "does not mean that the evacuation centers have no identified implementation process or may be located arbitrarily."

The DBM said that "the purpose, number, cost and implementing framework are already defined" while "the specific sites are being finalized to the legally mandated prioritization process."

"For fiscal year 2027, the proposal allocation covers two Ligtas Pinoy Centers per region at P90 million per center, based on the LPC five-year implementation plan inclusive of the site development and adjustments for unique site conditions," DBM said.

"The site identification process is already underway," it added.

On Aug. 10, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) formally requested the Office of the Civil Defense for a prioritized list of sites to ensure the projects are properly identified and ready for implementation, the agency also said.