Marcos wants subpoena powers for flood commission

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is committed to granting the proposed independent commission on flood control subpoena powers powers to investigate lawmakers implicated in infrastructure anomalies, Malacañang said Monday.

“As he said, he really wants the independent commission to have subpoena powers. And if this is not followed, it could lead to the filing of an administrative case, which may be imposed,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro told reporters in a press briefing here.

In a recent podcast, Marcos highlighted the creation of an independent commission to investigate the widespread anomalies surrounding flood control projects.

“There’s no formal name yet, but that’s what we’re setting up — an independent commission to investigate the reported anomalies in the flood control projects,” he said.

The commission will work “separately from the government,” he added.

“We will give them all the powers necessary for them to come to a conclusion, to come to some findings, so that we’ll know what really happened,” he said.

The President expressed his commitment to addressing the anomalies in the infrastructure sector.

“And another thing that is very important to me, because the problem has become so deep, what I really want to know is how did we end up like this?” Marcos said.

The commission will conduct a comprehensive review of projects, uncover irregularities, and recommend measures to hold those responsible accountable — to safeguard public trust in infrastructure spending.

Shameless

Marcos condemned the blatant corruption in publicly funded infrastructure projects, describing it as “garapalan” or shameless.

He expressed his shock at the scale and depth of corruption in the government, noting that it was not like this when he served as governor of Ilocos Norte.

“When I was governor, it wasn’t like this. And aside from the huge amounts of money being taken by people who have no right to pocket it, on top of that, they don’t even try to hide it,” he said.

He stressed that individuals and entities involved in fraudulent public infrastructure projects would face legal action.