First charges in Philippine flood control scandal target ex-lawmaker, officials

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos put the issue centre stage in a July address after weeks of deadly flooding. (EPA Images pic)

MANILA: Philippine prosecutors filed on Tuesday the first criminal charges in a sweeping corruption scandal over bogus flood control projects, promising “many” more indictments in the case that has prompted public ire and protests.

Rage over so-called ghost infrastructure, believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars, has been building for months, ever since President Ferdinand Marcos put the issue centre stage in a July address after weeks of deadly flooding.

Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers in the archipelago country have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard projects.

On Tuesday, the ombudsman’s office unveiled charges against former congressman Elizaldy Co, public works officials and members of a construction firm over their ties to a “grossly” substandard road dike in Oriental Mindoro province.

The charges include falsification of documents, misuse of public funds and graft law violations.

“Public funds were meant to protect communities from flooding, not to enrich officials or private contractors,” ombudsman spokesman Mico Clavano told a press briefing.

He said the department was acting on the first case submitted by an independent commission, with more in the preliminary investigation stage.

“This is the first of many cases that will be filed in court,” he said.

The announcement comes a day after Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), a church which has historically been a powerful voting bloc with ties to the Duterte political dynasty, concluded back-to-back rallies in Manila that drew hundreds of thousands of people.

The rallies saw INC leaders allude to “emerging evidence” in the case, and featured videos that Co — who has gone into hiding — released from abroad, accusing Marcos of masterminding the corruption.

While it was Marcos who pledged to identify the guilty and name names in his July speech, the ensuing furor has enveloped friend and foe alike.

On Monday, the Marcos administration saw two cabinet members, executive secretary Lucas Bersamin and budget director Amenah Pangandaman, step down after being linked to flood-control fraud.

The president’s congressman cousin, Martin Romualdez, resigned as House speaker in September after being implicated.

At Monday’s INC rally, Senator Imee Marcos, the president’s sister and a key ally of his arch-foe Vice President Sara Duterte, took to the stage to accuse him of drug use, saying it had impaired his judgement.

“His addiction became the reason for the flood of corruption, the lack of direction and very wrong decisions,” she said.

President Marcos’s son Sandro fired back on Tuesday, slamming the accusations as “not only false, but dangerously irresponsible”.