As allegations of government officials’ involvement in the flood control scandal reached Malacañang Palace, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro maintained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is “blameless.”

“Yes [he is], because the President will not have the courage to personally conduct an investigation if he knows for sure that he has done something wrong, unless, as we say, someone makes up a story to tarnish the President's name,” she said.

On Thursday, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo claimed that an official from the Department of Education “demanded” a 15 percent commission supposedly for the Office of the Executive Secretary.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin has since denied this allegation.

“I deny the imputation contained in the sworn statement of DPWH Undersecretary Bernardo submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee about the delivery of ‘agreed 15% commitment’ supposedly for the Office of the Executive Secretary. The imputation is not true,” he said.

Command responsibility? Palace says no.

While the insertions were revealed to be included in the 2025 national budget and signed by Marcos, Castro said the General Appropriations Bill had been reviewed by the economic team composed of cabinet secretaries.

“He had faith in what his cabinet secretaries were saying. So, with that, the supposed-to-be projects were shown, and he signed them believing that they would be done,” she said.

Castro further explained that Marcos discovered flood control projects reported as completed in 2024 did not seem accurate or consistent, which prompted the Chief Executive to order a probe.

Meanwhile, Castro maintained that there would be no cover-up in the investigations, even if the President’s relatives or Marcos himself were implicated.

“The President knows that he had nothing to do with that, which is why he himself ordered the investigation, let's not forget that, it all started with him,” she said.

Marcos has formed an independent fact-finding body, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, to probe flood control projects and other government infrastructure projects.