Enough is enough

After months of frustration and delays, newly appointed Ombudsman Boying Remulla has finally given the public a date to hold on to. He announced that formal charges against some public officials implicated in the flood control corruption scandal will be filed before 25 November. For a nation that has been neck-deep in outrage for more than three months, that clear timeline feels like the first real sign of movement.

It’s definitely a badly needed jolt of reassurance. Since the President’s promise in his July SoNA to hold those responsible to account, the flood control scandal has dominated the national conversation but produced little in terms of concrete results.

The exposés were shocking — billions in cash allegedly delivered to politicians, contractors’ families flaunting their wealth online, public works officials treating taxpayer money like pocket change. Each revelation intensified the public anger and disgust, and, more importantly, the determination to see the guilty punished.

Yet as the weeks dragged on and the investigations bogged down, anger turned to exasperation. Congress went from grandstanding to backpedaling. The so-called independent commission struggled with credibility. Every day that passed without charges felt like the confirmation of a painful truth: that even the most blatant corruption in this country can go unpunished once it’s fed into the bureaucratic machine.

It hasn’t helped that recent developments have only fueled the cynicism. The acquittals in the decade-old Napoles PDAF cases made people wonder if time and power can still buy impunity.

Then came the revelation of former Ombudsman Samuel Martires’ “secret” 2019 ruling quietly clearing Senator Joel Villanueva of PDAF liability. A decision so hushed that even the current Ombudsman was blindsided. Against this backdrop, it’s no surprise that many Filipinos have begun to question if justice in this country is reserved only for the powerful.

That’s why Remulla’s assurance matters. It’s not just a promise to file cases; it’s a pledge to prove that accountability can still happen within a single news cycle, not a generation. His plan to push for continuous trials and speedy resolutions is equally welcome. Because what truly kills public faith is not corruption itself, but the endless waiting for justice that never arrives.

Of course, words are easy. We’ve heard pledges of reform before. But this time, the public is watching closely, and Filipinos’ patience has worn dangerously thin.

For a public drowning in corruption fatigue, justice delayed isn’t just justice denied — it’s justice long overdue. The people are not looking for another press conference or another committee hearing. They want cases, convictions and consequences.

And soon.