Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said Tuesday he had “no personal knowledge” of the allegations linking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.

“I know nothing about the alleged involvement of the President or the Office of the President (OP) in flood control. I have no personal knowledge, and that is being investigated by the Office of the Ombudsman,” Recto told reporters at the House of Representatives.

Recto and other Office of the President officials were at the House as the Committee on Appropriations took up the OP’s proposed P10.15-billion budget for 2027.

Following legislative tradition, however, the committee deferred the plenary deliberations but voted to extend a parliamentary courtesy to the OP.

The allegations against the President emerged in connection with the broader flood control controversy that Marcos had highlighted in his 2025 State of the Nation Address, when he challenged government officials and contractors allegedly pocketing billions intended for flood control projects.

Since then, the Ombudsman has pursued allegations of possible conflicts of interest in government contracts of the Department of Public Works and Highways and filed cases against several current and former lawmakers accused of receiving kickbacks.

Earlier this year, individuals who identified themselves as bagmen of former congressman Zaldy Co surfaced, alleging that they delivered cash-filled luggage to various officials from 2022 to 2025. Marcos was among those named in their joint affidavit.

Malacañang has denied any involvement by the President.

The Ombudsman has vowed to pursue the flood control investigations “without fear or favor,” including cases involving the President’s relatives. One of those implicated is former speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, whom the anti-graft body has described as among the alleged “masterminds” of the scheme.

Marcos has maintained that he would not interfere with the Ombudsman’s investigation, even if it involved Romualdez.

“This is how accountability is meant to function — no favor asked, none given,” Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said earlier, as he vowed to pursue the cases based on evidence and the law.

The case against Romualdez is undergoing preliminary investigation and was recently submitted for resolution after his camp responded to the allegations.

Despite the various cases being pursued, the Ombudsman has yet to identify Marcos as a subject of its investigation into the alleged flood control anomalies.