Old rivals Robredo, Moreno at Malacañan as Marcos localizes funding

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February 23, 2026 | 4:00pm

MANILA, Philippines — Once running against each other for the presidency in the 2022 national elections, Isko Moreno and Leni Robredo joined President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at Malacañan as the administration announced increased funding for local governments.

Moreno, now mayor of Manila, and Robredo, mayor of Naga City, attended a ceremony where the national government detailed adjustments to the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF).

Marcos said the LGSF, while vital to local communities, had operated under a "demand-driven" system that slowed fund releases.

The fund will be increased by more than P34 billion this year, bringing it to a record P58 billion. "The highest in the history of the LSGF," Marcos said.

The process would also be "hastened and streamlined" at the local level.

"We did this because we recognized that the needs of the people, no matter how small or big, can no longer wait," Marcos said in Filipino.

Rice benefits. Under the expanded program, more than 5 million families are also set to receive rice assistance through local governments.

Each beneficiary family is expected to receive 10 kilos of rice per month for six months.

Local projects funded

In an ambush interview after the ceremony, Moreno said he welcomed the support despite past political differences.

"I'm very happy that despite things in the past, President Bongbong Marcos opted to help a local government like the City of Manila," Moreno said.

He said Manila received P500 million from the LGSF for the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila's College of Medicine.

Days earlier, Marcos visited Naga City, where he met Robredo and turned over P500 million for the retrofitting of the Jesse M. Robredo Coliseum.