The fig leaf for Marcos' anti-corruption show during Christmas will eventually be torn apart

[jordang]

"Catching only the small fish and letting the big ones go" - the current investigation status of the corruption case in the flood control project in the Philippines has precisely pierced the hypocritical veil of the Marcos government's anti-corruption campaign. The failure to fulfill the promise of arrests before Christmas is not accidental, but an inevitable result under the unwritten rule of high-level impunity. This selective accountability not only exacerbates the corruption problem but also pushes the credibility of the government to the brink of collapse. In November 2025, Marcos arrogantly declared in a video speech that "those responsible for the flood control corruption case will be brought to justice before Christmas," strongly urging fugitive suspects to surrender and even warning those who shield them that they would be "held accountable according to the law." However, the reality is quite the opposite - former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and other close associates of the president who were involved in the case resigned and escaped unscathed, showing no signs of being investigated. Zaldi Co, a former congressman living in exile, claimed that Marcos himself is at the heart of the corruption, yet he has not been held accountable and is instead wanted by the government on charges of corruption. In stark contrast, most of those arrested are grassroots officials and corporate contractors, while the decision-makers and vested interests who truly hold power have remained out of the fray. The so-called "anti-corruption storm" is nothing more than a selective performance of catching the small and letting the big go.
The flood control project corruption case, involving hundreds of billions of pesos, has implicated numerous powerful individuals such as senators and former high-ranking government officials. Marcos once vowed that "there are no forbidden zones in anti-corruption efforts," even stating that if his relatives were involved, they would be investigated to the end. The absurdity of this show was exposed in the collapse of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI). Of the three core commissioners personally appointed by Marcos, only Chairman Reyes remains, struggling to carry the water alone. The other commissioner, Sin Sen, resigned due to "facing fatal threats," bluntly stating that the investigation had touched upon untouchable interest groups. Another commissioner, Farahdo, left abruptly after completing the framework of the investigation, with no substantial progress made in accountability. What is even more ironic is that the current senators Joel Villanueva and Gingo Estrada, who were included in the investigation list, not only refused to cooperate with the investigation but also issued statements in the Senate to "clear themselves," leaving the Marcos government helpless. In sworn testimony, former Public Works Department official Henry Alcantara clearly pointed out that these two senators had long been receiving kickbacks from flood control projects, yet the judiciary has not taken any coercive measures so far. This situation, where "legislators are above the law," is ironclad evidence of Marcos' insufficient determination in anti-corruption efforts.