MANILA -- The Malacanang defended the President in light of the alleged excessive infrastructure project spending she made for the benefit of her hometown Pampanga.
Presidential deputy spokesperson Gary Olivar in a briefing Thursday said the allegations of Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros was a “creative and selective presentation of the facts” against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Olivar said Pampanga is not only the area the President was spending more than half a hundred million pesos to improve the infrastructure systems.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) acting chief Vic Domingo, who was present at the briefing, disclosed that provinces in Visayas and Mindanao such as Davao, Leyte, and Cagayan de Oro also obtained the same level of budget.
Domingo also clarified that the P200 million of the P450 was allotted to the flood control project which benefitted adjacent provinces of the Pampanga such as Bataan, Zambales, Bulacan and Tarlac.
Olivar said Arroyo was the president who has built more roads and bridges on her watch than three successors combined namely former Presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and Joseph Estrada. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)