President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday defended his administration’s cautious stance on the so-called “Floodgate” scandal, insisting that any case against powerful individuals must be built on “intact and credible” evidence.
“We know many of these people are not innocent, okay. But if you are going to bring them to court, you must have a very strong case,” Marcos said in his PBBM Podcast, posted on the Presidential Communications Office’s Facebook page.
The President added that rushing prosecutions without solid proof would be “unforgivable and shameful.”
“Look, what happens if we rush things? Our evidence isn’t complete or is unclear, but we force it anyway — and we lose the case. Can you imagine that? That would be much, much worse,” he said.
It was Marcos himself, with his “Mahiya naman kayo” (shame on you) spiel during his last State of the Nation Address, who exposed ghost or substandard flood control projects, the funding of which he claimed were inserted into the 2025 national budget.
He had formed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate the scandal, but the body itself is being seen by his government’s critics as lacking independence to help prosecute high-ranking government officials.
The President’s defense came as the “Floodgate” inquiry included members of his political circle, including his cousin and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who was recently linked to alleged suitcase deliveries of kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects.
However, Romualdez’s name was not in the complaint filed by the NBI with the DoJ.
Marcos was apparently responding to mounting public criticism over why only small officials have been charged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) before the Department of Justice while bigger political figures remain untouched.
Former Marine Orly Regala Guteza, who served as security aide to Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that he personally delivered suitcases containing about P48 million each to the homes of Co and Romualdez.
Unprogrammed funds
Guteza said the deliveries, which he made “more than three times,” went to Co’s Horizon Residences unit in Taguig and Romualdez’s Forbes Park addresses.
He also claimed to have delivered cash to another Romualdez property “near Malacañang,” and said the payoffs continued until his resignation in August.
Other testimonies deepened the scandal’s reach.
Former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo implicated Co, Sen. Francis Escudero, and former senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Nancy Binay in anomalous flood control projects, claiming that millions were funneled as “cuts” for budget insertions.
Bernardo alleged that P160 million was delivered to a representative of Escudero after projects were inserted into the General Appropriations Act.
He further claimed that a 15-percent “cut” from unprogrammed funds was meant for officials linked to the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), an allegation flatly denied by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
Bernardo had been placed under provisional protection as a witness, along with several DPWH officials and contractors.
Meanwhile, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon filed 12 bid manipulation and rigging cases before the Philippine Competition Commission against several contractors — Wawao Builders, IM Construction Corp., Syms Construction Trading, St. Timothy Construction Corp., and Sunwest Inc. — for their alleged role in substandard flood control projects.
Dizon had earlier filed separate complaints before the Ombudsman against dismissed Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara, assistant engineers Brice Hernandez and Jay Mendoza, and 13 others for malversation and graft.
Sixteen DPWH personnel have since been suspended.
The “Floodgate” scandal, which has already forced Romualdez to step down as speaker “to protect the integrity” of the probe, continues to expose links between lawmakers, contractors, and alleged budget kickbacks running into billions.
Romualdez and Co have both denied the accusations, calling them “false and politically motivated.” Escudero dismissed the claims as “malicious,” while Binay said she was being used as a “distraction.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, who on Sunday resigned as Senate Blue Ribbon chairman, earlier revealed that nearly all senators in the 19th Congress had insertions totaling about P100 billion.