Selective justice

Accountability in the Philippines has always been a stress test of power. Not of law, but of connections.

When contractor Curlee Discaya spoke up about the flood control racket, it was not politicians who paid the heaviest price. It was his family, his business, and his freedom. His wife is in jail. His reputation is in ruins. The system he exposed, meanwhile, remains largely intact.

Contrast this with how the powerful move. Former representative Zaldy Co was declared a fugitive — after he had left the country. Former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan exited public office amid scrutiny, but is now reportedly overseas. And now, amid questions and warrants, Atong Ang’s absence has become its own headline.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair Ping Lacson has alleged data manipulation, cover-ups and deliberate efforts to weaken investigations. These are not small accusations. They strike at state institutions being used to protect, rather than prosecute, those at the top.

The question is no longer whether corruption exists. It is whether enforcement follows through when the suspects are powerful and well-connected.

If warrants end up as press releases, if hearings stop at sound bites, and if those with means can simply wait out the storm abroad, then justice becomes selective.   

- Jason Mago

A Wall Street warning for Manila

Where money is involved, politicians should be the farthest from the room.

That warning echoes from Wall Street itself. JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon recently cautioned that “anything that chips away” at the independence of the Federal Reserve is “not a good idea,” stressing that political pressure on monetary policy ultimately pushes inflation and hikes borrowing costs.

Dimon isn’t a populist. He isn’t an activist. He is the head of the largest bank in the United States. A capitalist through and through. When someone like that says political interference is dangerous, markets listen.

The lesson is simple and universal. Central banks are insulated for a reason. Once policy decisions are perceived as politically motivated rather than data-driven, trust erodes fast. The punishment comes quietly: weaker currencies, capital flight, higher risk premiums. Rebuilding credibility takes years.

For the Philippines, this matters. Our economy is exposed to food shocks, oil prices and exchange rate swings. Stability depends on a credible, technocratic Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that answers to numbers, not narratives.

Monetary policy is not a political escape hatch. It exists to protect the public from short-term thinking and long-term damage.

Once politicians touch the money, everyone pays.             

- Carl Magadia

Clearing operations 

I said last year I would step back from writing columns on the flood control mess because it had become exhausting — it’s the same names over and over, yet nothing is moving.

The “Floodgate” probe appears stuck at identifying big-name contractors and DPWH officials, putting them in one room, and calling it accountability. Meanwhile, the real perpetrators roam free, some of them even steering the very investigation meant to expose wrongdoing.On Wednesday, a fire broke out at the DPWH–Cordillera Administrative Region office. According to Baguio fire marshals, the blaze originated in the Financial Management Records Room.

The fire occurred amid an ongoing investigation into an infrastructure scandal. The Cordillera region is among the largest recipients of flood control funds. In September last year, six officials of the Baguio City District Engineering Office were suspended over alleged manipulation of the bidding process. This is not new. Last October, another fire gutted the DPWH Research and Standards Building in Quezon City.

No injuries were reported — only the records suffered burns. No deaths were recorded, just the people’s confidence in the system.

Last year, President Marcos Jr. inspected slope protection projects along Kennon Road in Tuba, Benguet, raising concerns over their structures and effectiveness. That same area became the site where Undersecretary Cathy Cabral allegedly fell to her death.

Coincidence or not, it is easy to say that what is “on purpose” is hidden under what is labeled “by accident.”

President Marcos said he would not leave office until the flood control problem is resolved.

Well, leave.

There has been no real progress in the investigation under his watch. What the public sees instead are delays, manipulation, and protection — for friends, allies, including family.

Gising, Pilipinas. Harap-harapan tayong niloloko ng gobyernong ito. 

- Vivienne Angeles