Marcos vows arrests of flood control scam suspects by December: 'Wala silang Merry Christmas'
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. assured the public that there will be no happy holidays for officials involved in the flood control scandal as he vowed jail time for them before the year ends.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Nov. 13, Marcos presented the recent accomplishments of his administration and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, which was formed in September to specifically look into irregularities in flood control projects in the last 10 years.
He began with the 20,078 reports from Aug. 11 to Nov. 10 submitted to the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, which eventually led to investigations into the corruption in flood control projects. He also cited the seizure of 13 luxury vehicles from the Discaya family by the Bureau of Customs and announced that the DPWH and Commission on Audit filed the first criminal complaints before the Ombudsman on Sept. 8, covering five projects.
The President said the ICI has submitted its first batch of case referrals against 37 individuals, including lawmakers, former DPWH officials, and contractors over graft and corruption, malversation, and code of conduct violations, among others. He didn't name them one by one, though in late October, the ICI recommended the filing of charges against Sen. Joel Villanueva and Sen. Jinggoy Estrada as well as former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co.
“Tapos na ang maliligaya ninyong araw,” Marcos said. “Hahabulin namin kayo.”
“Bago mag-Pasko, marami dito sa napangalanan dito, palagay ko matatapos na ang kaso nila, buo na ‘yung kaso. Makukulong na sila, wala silang Merry Christmas," he added.
The President admitted that the government has no timeline yet on holding all erring individuals and officials accountable, as the ICI is still seeing more anomalies as the probe continues.
Marcos, however, reiterated that the government is taking time to build solid cases backed with sufficient evidence to ensure criminals will be put in jail without legal technicality escapes. He also laid out his administration's three-pronged action plan on the scandal: filing of cases, ensuring recovery of stolen wealth, and carrying out reforms to prevent corruption in the future.
Marcos: 'Downturn' in PH economy not caused by corruption alone
With the country's third-quarter GDP growth at 4%, the PSEi's lowest finish in five years, and a peso-dollar exchange hitting an all-time low, Marcos said that many factors were behind the country's slow economic growth and not just corruption alone.
"There really was a downturn in economic activity. It's not only because of these problems," he said, citing lost working days due to the recent typhoons.
"Lahat ng grupo all around the world is falling. We will make sure that by the end of the year that the levels of public spending will go according to our original plan, so mababawi natin 'yung nawala sa third quarter," Marcos continued.
Hearings at the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the ICI have revealed billions of pesos lost to corruption.
The ICI recently announced it will livestream its hearings soon. No starting date for the livestream has been set, as of writing.