Inka Magnaye defends DPWH employee boyfriend from corruption allegations amid flood control mess
Voice talent Inka Magnaye decried criticisms about her alleged silence on the flood control project scandal because her boyfriend is an employee of the Department of Public Works and Highway.
In a video statement on Sept. 20, Magnaye said she has been missing in action for a taping while she's also "trying to center" herself amidst the rumors.
She noted that her comments section was turned off "because nobody likes reading hateful and untrue comments about them."
“It’s kind of crazy how one post from an anonymous account was all the evidence some people needed to condemn us to a witch hunt. I didn't realize that this was how things work now, and it’s nuts," Magnaye said.
Hours before her statement, the Facebook satire page "Mga larawan at bidyo na walang saysay" threw shade at her with a message that read, "Never ask a woman her age / A man his salary / Inka Magnaye, bakit siya tahimik sa DPWH/flood control issues." The post has over 80,000 reactions, 1,600 comments, and 7,700 shares to date.
As the post went viral, Magnaye became a hot topic on other platforms like Reddit.
Magnaye asserted that she doesn't have a collection of luxury cars and "very expensive" bags.
"We don't take constant and extravagant trips outside of the country, and yet people are already burning at the stake," she said.
Magnaye noted that she's been harassed "all week," with users doxxing her partner Mat's work "because they think he is corrupt." Some people began posting the LinkedIn profile of Mat as posts against Magnaye went viral. They also shared their old photos together.
Magnaye also denied being quiet about the flood control issue, noting she's been posting about it on Threads and TikTok.
“I just haven't been as loud about it because I'm mostly vocal about things that I have personal experience in, like colorism, animal welfare, empowering women through self love, breaking stigma about mental health, and some things like that," she said. "As a personal rule, I do my best to not speak too loudly about things that I don't really know much about."
The voice talent said the last thing she wanted to do was "misspeak about Mat's place of work and cause him to lose his livelihood."
"So instead, what I do is I repost and reshare good content with important information from credible sources," she said. "Videos from creators who do political content, posts from credible news sources, and then, from that, I learn and then I share my opinion when I can. Which I have naman, for the record."
While affirming that Mat works at DPWH, Magnaye noted that not everyone who works in a government agency is corrupt.
"Don't discount that there are good people there who truly want to serve the public, just like his dad, who already passed away before Mat started working," she said.
She took note of Mat's academic achievements, including a full athletic scholarship in college, in which he took up BS Accountancy before shifting to BS Civil Engineering.
"[He] passed his civil engineering boards on his first try and then got a master's degree and then still takes up multiple seminars just to beef up his knowledge and his experience," she said. "So, whatever he has, he worked really, really hard for, and as much as I'm really proud of him, I just never really mentioned anything about his work because he's a private person, and I respect that also."
Magnaye pointed out that amid the criticisms, she became "even more protective" of Mat because "he works clean," and that she knows there are people "who won't even care that he's good at his job."
She said that they understand the anger of the people because it is theirs, too. However, she said that she, Mat, others not involved in the alleged corruption are "getting caught in the crossfire."
Magnaye also cited DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon's directive for their employees to stop wearing their uniforms amid physical and verbal harassment in public places.
"And it saddens me that a lot of these untrue accusations will just remain posted with no rectification at all, even if they're wrong," she said.
Magnaye called on the public to remember that speculation is not fact, and to not be distracted "from the people who are actually responsible."
"The issue is way bigger than Mat and I," she added. "We, Mat, and myself, are legitimate taxpayers and are obviously against corruption of any kind, and we want those who mishandled the funds to be held accountable."
Flood control mess
The controversy involving the government's flood control projects began in July as the rains triggered massive flooding in the metro.
Hearings at the House of Representatives and the Senate revealed billions of pesos lost to corruption, which prompted the formation of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure that will specifically investigate irregularities in flood control projects in the last 10 years.
On Sept. 11, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon filed criminal complaints against officials of the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office and four private contractors linked to such anomalies.
The government has also frozen the bank accounts of the contractors and DPWH officials with alleged involvement in the issue.
