President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned that this Christmas will be far from merry for those involved in the flood control corruption scandal, as the government moves forward with multiple cases against implicated officials and contractors. Speaking at a press conference, Marcos detailed the government’s actions against individuals linked to the anomalous projects, including the first batch of cases filed by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) before the Office of the Ombudsman. The ICI’s initial referrals involve 37 lawmakers, officials, and contractors, among them Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, and former congressman Zaldy Co. "I know that before Christmas, many of those I have named will have their cases finished. Their cases are already complete, they will be jailed," Marcos said. While the President expressed confidence that some cases could be resolved soon, he clarified that there is no fixed timeline, citing the complexity and volume of cases under review. Marcos emphasized that the administration must proceed carefully to ensure airtight cases, noting that his priorities are to jail those guilty, recover stolen public funds, and implement reforms to prevent similar corruption in the future. The flood control scandal was first raised by Marcos during his fourth State of the Nation Address, after he personally inspected several ghost and substandard flood control projects. An initial investigation exposed the top-earning contractors allegedly behind the fraudulent schemes, including the Discaya couple, who now face multiple charges of tax evasion and malversation. The controversy has since expanded, implicating several high-ranking officials and legislators accused of diverting billions of pesos from public infrastructure funds to non-existent or defective flood control projects in exchange for kickbacks.
