Deception ‘Floodgate’

The effort to prevent the flood control inferno from spreading to the Palace revived memories of an earlier chapter in the corruption saga, when three officials in the President’s inner circle were unceremoniously booted out.

The removal of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Undersecretary Adrian Carlos Bersamin on 17 November 2025 was widely seen as a desperate purge amid the growing mass protests over the flood control scandal.

The announcements came while a major rally organized by the Iglesia Ni Cristo, which drew hundreds of thousands, was underway, demanding accountability.

Bersamin later went public, saying he did not voluntarily resign but was effectively asked to step down, while the Palace insisted it was a resignation out of ethical considerations or delicadeza to facilitate the investigations.

This led to a Cabinet reshuffle, with Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, the apparent architect of the manipulation of the 2024 national budget to fund flood control projects, appointed the new Executive Secretary.

Recently, allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “killed” the impeachment complaints against him on the excuse that they lacked substance. Still, if not for the tyranny of numbers in the House of Representatives, several pieces of evidence implicating Marcos in the scandal would have been brought to light.

Among the bases for the dismissal of the impeachment complaints for lack of probative value were revelations of fugitive former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co., the hatchet man in the budget manipulation racket as the head of the House appropriations committee, that President Marcos benefited from the kickback operations.

Transcripts of electronic conversations between Adrian Bersamin, grand nephew of then “little president” Lucas Bersamin, and Marcos were supposedly available.

In one of the videos Co posted on his social media page, he alleged that Bersamin gave him a list of projects that the President wanted inserted into the national budget, totaling P1 billion.

Former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Roberto Bernardo made a similar allegation in a Senate hearing. Bernardo claimed he delivered P8 billion in cash to Bersamin and to Education Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo, who is now deputy commissioner at the Bureau of Customs.

Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, and ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio claimed to have obtained records of text messages between the young Bersamin and Marcos dated 24 March 2025 acknowledging receipt of the P8 billion from Bernardo, in which the President responded, “okay.”

“The 7.122 delivery to me is now complete. I will finish the computation today,” a portion of the transcript said.

Based on a revelation by Tinio, the exchange also covered how the P8 billion was spent, including allocations for television ads supporting administration candidates in the 2025 midterm elections, payments to a survey firm, and talent fees for campaign sortie performers.

“On 10 July, Usec. Bersamin relayed that he had a delivery of P2 billion for the President at the Narra residence in Forbes Park. And in the President’s reply, he said, ‘I will inform June Baris,’” according to Tinio.

Baris, who was Marcos’ former head of security, would have been a good source of information had there been a trial.

Another possible witness was Undersecretary Bersamin, who had expressed willingness to disclose the contents of his phone messages with Marcos, including an affidavit attesting to their conversations.

All of that now hangs in the balance after the impeachment of Marcos was abruptly terminated.

His House allies decided to call game over before halftime.