‘Floodgate’ crooks’ sad Christmas stands, or so Castro says

Malacañang on Sunday leaned into what critics have dismissed as a revisionist spin, insisting that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s warning of a “sad Christmas” for those behind the flood control scandal remains in force, even as the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) is left with just one member.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the ICI will remain as is for now following the resignation of Commissioner Rossana Fajardo, effective 31 December.

Castro sought to reframe public skepticism over the President’s earlier vow that “big fish” in the so-called “Floodgate” scandal would face consequences, saying results were already unfolding, just not theatrically.

“The President’s promise that many will not have a merry Christmas,” she said. “He is right, many will not have a merry Christmas. But he did not immediately point out that this or that congressman or senator will be detained.”

She urged patience, arguing that accountability was progressing through due process.

“The President’s term is not over yet,” Castro said. “This is just four months, and more money has been returned from kickbacks. Many assets have been frozen.”

She added that several individuals were already facing charges from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, some were in hiding, and others had their passports canceled.

“What people see is only the negative,” Castro said. “These achievements are not being mentioned.”

With Fajardo’s departure, ICI Chairperson and former Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr. is left as the sole remaining member after Commissioner Rogelio Singson earlier announced his exit from the commission.

Not a retreat

Castro, however, rejected claims that the thinning ranks signaled a retreat, saying the ICI’s task was never meant to end with personalities.

“The role of the ICI is to start, to concentrate on gathering documents, to start and to see who should be held accountable,” Castro said. “But it is not over yet. The President said that there are still many things to be investigated in a period of 10 years.”

She said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered a probe into infrastructure projects spanning a decade from 2015, stressing that Fajardo’s mandate had already been fulfilled.

Castro said Malacañang is holding off on appointing replacements as it awaits the passage of a law formally instituting an independent commission.

“Right now, there is no discussion about whether there will be a replacement because we are looking at a potential law that could be passed regarding the existence of an independent commission,” she said. “The President wants the law to be well-organized and passed, as long as it is a good law.”

She added that the President was wary of overlapping jurisdictions, particularly with the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Pressed on why the proposed measure has not been certified as urgent, Castro said it was deliberately tagged as a priority bill to give lawmakers room to craft it properly.

“The mere fact that he said this is a priority bill, it’s up to you how to schedule your hearings and activities in the Senate to get it passed,” she said.