Composite image from INQUIRER files
MANILA, Philippines — “Mahiya naman kayo!” (“Shame on you!”)
READ: ‘Mahiya naman kayo!’
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s rebuke of those who received “kickbacks, SOPs and ‘for the boys’” from flood control projects drew thunderous applause during last year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Among those applauding were senators, House members and Cabinet officials, including some later implicated in the multibillion-peso corruption scandal.
Nearly a year later, several people linked to the scandal have been jailed.
Ombudsman’s gains, not Marcos’
Still, lawyer Michael Henry Yusingco said “the President has not done enough to back his promise to resolve corruption in his administration.”
Yusingco, a nonresident research fellow at the Ateneo School of Government, said prosecuting and jailing officials are the responsibility of the Office of the Ombudsman, not the president.
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He said the Ombudsman’s case filings, therefore, should not be presented as a Marcos achievement in his next Sona.
“If he does, then he’d actually be mentioning gains made by the Ombudsman,” Yusingco told the Inquirer in a message this week.
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Yusingco said Marcos should have issued an executive order (EO) directing agencies to cooperate with the Ombudsman’s investigations by providing documents and other information.
“Prosecuting and jailing the corrupt is not within the president’s area of responsibility because that belongs to the Ombudsman,” Yusingco said. “But he could ensure that all agencies in government will cooperate with the Ombudsman’s efforts to go after officials involved in the flood control corruption.”
Marcos creates ICI
“Such an EO would’ve had a strong impact on his anti-corruption commitment,” he said. “But he hasn’t done this.”
Marcos instead signed an EO creating the three-member Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate flood control anomalies and recommend charges against those involved.
The ICI’s brief existence was marred by delayed funding, limited powers and questions about transparency.
It initially had no budget, leaving staff unpaid until the government allotted P41 million to the fact-finding body.
READ: Singson pleads: Pass de Lima’s bill to fix toothless, ‘punching bag’ ICI
READ: DBM releases ICI’s funds after Singson’s resignation lament
As a recommendatory body, the ICI could hold hearings, take testimony, gather and evaluate evidence, and recommend charges to the Ombudsman. It could summon witnesses but had no contempt powers.
Many witnesses and people implicated in the anomalies appeared before the ICI, but most requested executive sessions, raising transparency concerns.
Despite those limits, the ICI held 32 hearings involving 36 witnesses and produced more than 1,100 pages of documents.
Its referrals implicated politicians including former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, and former Sen. Bong Revilla.
Now in the Sandiganbayan’s hands
The ICI ceased operations on March 31 and turned over its findings to the Ombudsman, which conducted a parallel investigation.
READ: ICI ‘winds down’, operational until March 31
The Ombudsman has since filed cases against Co, Revilla and Estrada in the Sandiganbayan.
Co was named a respondent in a malversation case over a P289.4 million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, undertaken by Sunwest, a company in which he is said to be a beneficial owner.
READ: Court junks bid of Zaldy Co’s co-accused to dismiss malversation case
Prosecutors accused Revilla of proposing a purported P92.8 million ghost project in Pandi, Bulacan, and receiving a 30% kickback.
READ: Revilla camp denies he got 30% ‘commitment’ in Bulacan flood control
READ: Revilla’s ‘Bulacan ghost project’ case marked 95% complete in 21 days
Estrada was arrested on plunder charges over alleged kickbacks from flood control projects in 2025: P350 million from projects in Metro Manila and Oriental Mindoro and P213 million from projects in Bulacan.
READ: P573M ‘systematically delivered’ to Jinggoy Estrada in 3rd plunder case
Co remains at large.
Revilla and Estrada, who have repeatedly denied the accusations, are detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas because their cases are nonbailable.
More people to be jailed soon?
Last week, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla acknowledged that the government had brought only “a very small percentage” of those involved to justice.
“But we don’t stop [pursuing justice],” Remulla said. “We do this every day.”
On Monday, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the nonbailable plunder and money laundering complaint against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez had reached preliminary investigation.
READ: Ombudsman: Romualdez keeps trying to leave PH as we prepare plunder rap
The stage comes before a determination on whether to file a case against Marcos’ cousin in the Sandiganbayan. Malacañang said the president would not interfere.
READ: Marcos hands-off on cousin Romualdez’s case
Clavano declined to give a timeline for a possible filing but noted that new Ombudsman rules allow 60 days for preliminary investigations.
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Remulla earlier said case buildup takes time because prosecutors must ensure that cases are airtight.
“We just have to sail through the rough waters of public expectation,” Remulla said. “The people are already impatient and have been suffering for a long time.” /dm