President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on public officials to set aside political differences and prioritize the welfare of the Filipino people, saying national interest must come before personal agendas.
“Differences in politics should never prevent us from working together for our people,” President Marcos wrote in a Facebook post.
The president stressed that unity among leaders remains essential to sustaining government programs and ensuring the continued delivery of basic services.
“Nation first. Personal agendas later,” he added.
In a separate post on Instagram, President Marcos reiterated his call to focus on governance rather than politics.
“Serve first. Argue later,” Mr. Marcos said on his Instagram account.
“Less noise. More nation-building,” he added.
Over the weekend, Mr. Marcos traveled to Naga City to inspect flood mitigation efforts under Oplan Kontra Baha and met with Mayor Leni Robredo at City Hall.
The President and Robredo, his closest rival in the 2022 national elections, discussed local flood control projects and other priority programs, according to officials present at the meeting.
Robredo welcomed the national government’s support for Naga’s flood management initiatives and education infrastructure needs.
On Monday, at the “Sa Bagong Pilipinas, Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” launch in Malacañang meanwhile, President Marcos announced a revamped Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), increasing its 2026 allocation by more than P34 billion to nearly P58 billion, the highest in the program’s history.
He said the streamlined fund release process would allow local government units (LGUs) to implement projects faster, particularly in food security, health care, disaster resilience, and infrastructure.
More than 5 million families are expected to receive 60 kilos of rice annually under the program.
Funds will also support hospitals, health stations, evacuation-ready multipurpose halls, roads, water systems, and rural electrification.
Mr. Marcos said P1.19 trillion in National Tax Allotment funds have been released to LGUs for 2026, over 15% higher than last year.
In a later event, the President formalized a partnership between the
Department of Education and city governments to address a backlog of 144,758 classrooms as of January 2026.
“We cannot wait for decades, years, to give every student a safe and conducive classroom for effective learning,” he said.
Under the agreement, cities will lead procurement and construction, while the Department of Education will set standards and validate projects.
More than P85 billion has been allocated for basic education facilities in 2026, including P9.6 billion for about 4,000 classrooms in the first tranche.
