In a radio interview on Tuesday, Navotas Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco claimed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. knew about the budget insertions in the 2025 national spending plan, which prompted him to withhold funds that the executive branch had flagged as questionable.

Despite raising concerns over the projects, Tiangco admitted that the President could have taken further steps to block the release of funds now implicated in alleged kickback issues surrounding the budget.

“He knew of the insertions. And as of July, the release of ₱80 billion in funding under the national budget is on hold because these are questionable projects,” Tiangco said.

Tiangco was referring to the fund insertions flagged by the executive branch following the release of the enrolled bill of the 2025 national budget after Bicameral Conference Committee deliberations.

According to the lawmaker, Marcos reprimanded his cousin, then-Speaker Martin Romualdez, and House Appropriations chair Zaldy Co for allegedly cornering the funds for themselves—supposedly depriving the administration’s foreign-assisted flagship projects of necessary counterpart financing.

Tiangco said he attended a meeting in late 2024 where the President scolded Romualdez after Marcos’ attention was caught by a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) report.

According to Tiangco, the President confronted the former House Speaker during a family lunch.

“It was a Sunday. That JICA report was what angered him — why were they even touching the funds for that,” Tiangco stated.

Tiangco added that he does not know why the President did not immediately act on the alleged insertions in the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

“Why the President did not act immediately, I don’t know. I cannot defend him because I don’t know, and that is also my frustration,” he said.

Responding to the President’s remark that evidence is still insufficient to charge Romualdez over the alleged flood control kickback scheme, Tiangco said that knowing about irregular income is different from having evidence that will stand in court.

“Maybe sometimes we hear or know that a person is getting money. But for that person to be charged, and for there to be admissible evidence in court showing he received money, that might be what the President is waiting for,” Tiangco said.

“I’m just guessing,” he noted.

Despite this, Tiangco said the President must eventually hold his cousin accountable or risk public backlash and the perception that he is protecting Romualdez.

“The President is now in a position where he needs to prove something. People are asking a valid question, ‘Why didn’t he act?’ He needs to show he is willing to pursue charges against Martin Romualdez,” Tiangco said.

Tiangco also said he would politically separate from the President if he felt Marcos was protecting Romualdez.

“Because if he doesn’t, people will think the reason he did nothing is because he is involved. And if I feel that Romualdez will be protected or treated with kid gloves, I would separate from the President politically,” he stated.