With no apparent result in the Palace’s promise to jail ranking officials “before Christmas,” one more lawmaker has expressed loss of confidence in the government’s sincerity in unraveling the corruption scandal involving the multibillion-peso plunder of taxpayer money.
“I no longer believe that the government is sincere in uncovering the truth behind the flood control corruption,” Caloocan Rep. and House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Edgar Erice told CoverStory on Monday. He said it is now up to Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson’s blue ribbon committee to investigate the issue.
But according to Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, the missed deadline for the promised arrest of “big fish” should not be the focus because it is more of a public relations move “to appease the public’s anger.”
“What is more important is that the investigations are transparent, exhaustive, and should cover all guilty parties,” De Lima told CoverStory also on Monday. “The government must gather strong evidence to be able to file airtight cases and ensure conviction.”
In November, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed that dozens of people tied to the corruption scandal, including high-profile politicians, would be behind bars during the holidays.
“I know that before Christmas, many of those named here—their cases will be finished, their cases will be complete, they will be jailed. They won’t have a merry Christmas; before Christmas, they will be imprisoned,” he said at a news briefing in Malacañang.
The President was referring to the 37 persons in the first batch of case referrals by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) transmitted to the Office of the Ombudsman. They include lawmakers, current and former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and contractors.
Not one
But with the Christmas holidays over, not one politician implicated has been jailed.
In November, the Ombudsman filed graft and corruption charges against former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, a former chair of the House appropriations committee, over an anomalous ₱289-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
Co is also tagged in other controversial projects in which, witnesses and DPWH officials allege, he steered contracts to favored contractors, made questionable budget insertions, and received hefty kickbacks. A warrant has been issued for his arrest but he remains overseas.
The high-profile politicians implicated in the scandal include Senators Francis Escudero, Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, a cousin of the President.
The allegations made against them involve kickbacks, budget insertions, and money trails linking them to anomalous projects. Their cases are still under investigation; all have denied wrongdoing.
Mr. Marcos earlier vowed that no one would be spared from the flood control probe, not even Romualdez, who quit the House speakership in September. “Those people who are accomplices in this, the shameless who stole the people’s money: Your happy days are over. We will pursue you,” he said.
In September, he used the term “big fish” to describe “the ones truly operating this system.”
On Nov. 24, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the arrest of “big fish” was imminent. “Big fish are coming soon. We should expect the Discayas, senators, and congressmen in the next five weeks, one after another. There is no La Catedral here; they will be treated like everyone else,” he said.
La Catedral is the luxurious prison in Medellin, Colombia, where drug lord Pablo Escobar was allowed to live in comfort instead of in a normal jail.
4 months only
Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez has pointed out that “the flood control investigation does not end on Dec. 25. It’s only been a little over four months.”
“The Napoles probe took almost a year before people were sent to jail,” Gomez said. “There will surely be more thrown behind bars in the new year.”
He was referring to the ₱10-billion pork barrel scandal exposed in 2013, involving the businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and lawmakers Juan Ponce Enrile (since deceased), Estrada, and Revilla, who were all eventually acquitted. Napoles has been convicted on many charges and remains behind bars.
But Erice is not hopeful. Speaking about the current scandal, he said: “It appears that the game plan is to jail a few minority senators and some congressmen while covering up for relatives, close allies, and Cabinet members who are not being investigated.”
He said the Senate blue ribbon committee chaired by Lacson may now be the public’s only remaining recourse, and called on the panel to summon Cabinet officials who have resigned without fully explaining their roles in what he described as “the greatest heist in government” involving the national budget.
“We cannot trust the Ombudsman [Jesus Crispin Remulla] to conduct a fair investigation because he is too close to the President, and his brother [Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla] has already announced that he intends to run for the presidency in 2028,” Erice said.
‘Real test of leadership’
De Lima, on the other hand, raised the importance of passing the bill seeking the creation of an Independent Commission Against Infrastructure Corruption (ICAIC). She called it “the real test of leadership,” noting that “so far, the President has not performed well in this regard.”
On Sept. 11, Mr. Marcos issued Executive Order No. 94 creating the ICI to investigate flood control and other infrastructure projects dating back to 2015. But three of those he appointed to the committee—Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, former public works secretary Rogelio Singson, and seasoned accountant Rossana Fajardo—have since resigned.
De Lima said there is little reason to believe Communications Secretary Gomez’s claim that more arrests are expected in 2026, “unless the President shows determination in pushing the investigations to their logical conclusion by certifying as urgent and signing the ICAIC bill into law.”
“This administration should avoid making such statements, especially after the President’s failed promise. Huwag puro kuda, gawin na lang nila (Enough of the could-haves; they should just do it). Let me reiterate: Accountability is measured in prosecutions, not press releases,” the House deputy minority leader said.
She called on the President to work on the passage of the ICAIC bill and “appoint incorruptible, competent, and tireless commissioners to finally start a transparent and exhaustive inquiry.”
De Lima also said she and her colleagues have filed other urgent bills and would continue to file crucial anti-corruption measures in the House, such as the proposed Anti-Illicit Enrichment and Anti-Illicit Transfer Act.
She added in a mix of Filipino and English: “We are helping the President in this fight against corruption. He should also help us in Congress. If not, it will raise serious doubts about his commitment to identifying the real crooks in the biggest corruption scandal in our country.”
Falling short
At the University of the Philippines Diliman, political science professor Jean Encinas-Franco said Mr. Marcos and his administration “fell short on that promise” of jailing high-profile individuals.
“I understand that they are doing their best to make an airtight case [against] the perpetrators,” she told CoverStory. “I hope this is the case and that we will hear the good news these coming weeks. It is important that whatever will come out will be legitimate and acceptable to the public.”
For Encinas-Franco, the administration could pursue longer-term reforms such as regulating political dynasties, electoral reforms, and improving government transparency to prevent similar scandals.
The Makabayan bloc in the House—composed of ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co—described Mr. Marcos’ statements as “empty rhetoric.”
“The deadline has passed, yet not a single ‘big fish’ has been apprehended. So much for ‘some people will spend Christmas in jail,’” the lawmakers said. “The biggest Christmas scam is the administration’s pretense of fighting corruption while protecting the powerful and well-connected.”
Among the prominent personalities implicated in the corruption scandal, only the billionaire contractor Sarah Discaya is behind bars at Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu. Her husband, Curlee Discaya, and former DPWH officials Henry Alcantara, Bryce Hernandez, and Jaypee Mendoza remain in Senate custody. CS
