Critics question Marcos’ sincerity in anti-corruption drive

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Nearly two months since the investigation into the multibillion-peso flood control corruption scandal began, no one has been arrested, prompting anti-corruption advocates to question whether the Marcos administration is genuinely serious about accountability and reform.

Former Department of Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno described the government’s actions so far as “very disappointing,” noting that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to take concrete steps that demonstrate a true commitment to curbing corruption.

“There are several efforts already that the President would have done if he were committed in terms of making sure that we get something out of this whole exercise,” Magno said.

She added that the administration’s selective disclosure of information has raised doubts about its sincerity.

“If we want real reforms, if we want the public to be informed, then all information, all government contracts should be made public,” she said.

Magno also criticized the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) for its lack of transparency, citing the absence of livestreams of its hearings, which she said rendered the investigations “opaque.”

The ICI, in its defense, said the decision not to livestream hearings was meant to prevent “trial by publicity” and avoid their use for political leverage or agendas.

It added that the commission’s focus is to build cases for criminal, civil, and administrative actions while protecting individual rights and ensuring justice under the rule of law.

Magno argued that the ICI’s limited mandate prevents it from fully addressing systemic corruption and urged the administration to support legislation establishing a permanent, empowered anti-corruption body.

“Despite the fact that we’ve already pointed out the weaknesses of this commission, there’s no effort from the president to certify anything and to encourage at least Congress to take seriously the effort to legislate a commission that can really go after the corrupt officials,” she said.

Former Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel echoed these concerns, saying the ICI’s closed-door proceedings raise questions about how it decides who to summon and how it will arrive at its recommendations.

He also questioned the President’s willingness to uphold transparency, pointing out that Marcos continues to retain controversial funding allocations such as unprogrammed appropriations and confidential and intelligence funds under his office.

When asked if the administration was using the flood control probe as a political weapon, Manuel said it appears to follow a familiar “playbook” targeting political opponents.

“But they underestimated the level of awareness and being critical to the Filipinos. That is something that the Marcos administration did not expect,” he said.

Magno agreed, saying the administration’s handling of the issue mirrors that of previous governments facing corruption scandals.

“You really would question the intent of the president and his commitment in terms of really solving the corruption issues. There is just a very limited approach, which is very similar to what previous administrations have done,” she said.

“There is no effort to push for concrete policies to address these problems that are the root causes of this corruption scandal,” she added.