Marcos in tears: ‘I am very upset’ over flood control corruption

In a full display of emotion, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s tears were visible in his latest podcast, aired Sunday, as he expressed his upset and anger over corrupt government officials who had pocketed flood control funds at the expense of the Filipino people.

TV host Vicky Morales, who interviewed the President in Episode 4 of the PBBM Podcast, asked if Marcos was teary-eyed during their conversation.

The President, holding back tears, quickly replied: “Because I am very upset!”

“Because I see people having a hard time. And they don’t deserve it. Mabuti kung masamang tao ang mga yan na dapat parusahan. Hindi naman eh,” the stuttering President said.

“All they do is work and love their families. Then why do we let them suffer? For you to amass government funds? Makes no sense to me,” he added.

The short clip, posted on the President’s official Facebook page, garnered thousands of mixed comments, with some sympathizing with the Chief Executive while others were not impressed.

The President earlier revealed that around P545 billion in public funds had gone to flood control projects nationwide since July 2022. An initial review showed that P100 billion — or 20 percent — of all flood control projects in the past three years were undertaken by only 15 contractors out of 2,409 bidders for both local and national projects.

Malacañang said Saturday that Marcos is set to issue an executive order creating an independent commission to investigate irregularities in flood control projects and other Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects marred by corruption.

The President said the independent commission will continue the investigation and recommend legal actions against liable parties.

Marcos also ordered a comprehensive review of the proposed DPWH budget under the 2026 National Expenditure Program to ensure transparency, accountability, and the proper use of public funds.