Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Thursday that numerous high-profile figures implicated in a massive corruption scandal involving flood control projects would face imprisonment by Christmas. The scandal, which has sparked widespread public outrage and street protests, involves at least 37 powerful senators, members of Congress, and wealthy businesspeople. Marcos revealed that an independent fact-finding commission has filed criminal complaints for graft, corruption, and plunder—a non-bailable offense—against these individuals. Additionally, 86 construction company executives and nine government officials face charges for allegedly evading taxes totaling nearly 9 billion pesos ($152 million). The corruption has been linked to substandard or non-existent flood control projects, a critical issue in a country frequently devastated by typhoons and flooding. Recent storms, including Typhoon Kalmaegi and Super Typhoon Fung-wong, have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced millions, further intensifying public anger. Marcos emphasized that the legal cases are robust and aimed at recovering stolen funds, stating, “We don’t file cases for optics. We file cases to put people in jail.” The government’s Anti-Money Laundering Council has frozen assets worth 6.3 billion pesos ($107 million), including bank accounts, real estate, and luxury vehicles. A new jail in Quezon City has been prepared to hold up to 800 detainees, with officials vowing no VIP treatment for powerful politicians. The investigation spans 9,855 flood control projects worth over 545 billion pesos ($9 billion) since Marcos took office in mid-2022. Finance Secretary Ralph Recto estimated that up to 118.5 billion pesos ($2 billion) may have been lost to corruption in 2023 alone. Among those implicated are lawmakers from both opposition and allied factions, including Marcos’s cousin and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who denies wrongdoing. Marcos assured that no one would be exempt from the investigations, signaling a determined crackdown on corruption.
Powerful Philippine politicians will be in jail by Christmas for corruption scandal, president says
