Arya News - The younger Marcos launched a crackdown on anomalies in flood control and infrastructure projects during his fourth State of the Nation Address last July.
MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must be held accountable over the flood control anomalies, the same way his father and namesake, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was held accountable, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said.
“One of the key issues against the Marcos dictatorship in 1986 was corruption, the plunder of the national coffers. It is the same very issue that is being raised against his son in relation to the flood control scandal,” Bayan chairperson Teddy Casiño told reporters on the sidelines of a protest marking the 40th anniversary of the People Power Revolution.
“[Marcos Jr.] has to be held accountable for that. This is the proper location because the accountabilities of the son will be the accountabilities of the father 40 years ago,” Casiño added.
READ: Marcos must also be held accountable for flood control mess – Bayan
The younger Marcos launched the crackdown on anomalies in flood control and infrastructure projects during his fourth State of the Nation Address last July.
Both houses of Congress initiated their respective investigations into the scandal, and Malacañang ordered the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to spearhead the probe last September.
Since then, only 26 individuals have been taken into custody for graft and malversation charges in connection with projects in Oriental Mindoro, Davao Occidental, and Bulacan, including former Sen. Bong Revilla and government contractor Sarah Discaya.
Meanwhile, former House of Representatives appropriations chairperson and resigned Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and his six co-accused remain at large.
“We are outraged that several months after the revelations about the flood control scandals, the investigations have practically come to a halt. There is a whitewash. There is a cover-up. And the key players, the masterminds, the big fish [are] getting away,” Casiño stressed.
“Marcos was at the front and center of the flood control anomalies. He was the one who prepared the budget that included the billions, hundreds of billions, for flood control. He was the one who allowed the legislators to insert additional budgets. And he actually received kickbacks as evidenced by several testimonies,” he added.
Co accused Marcos of masterminding the kickback scheme, but Malacañang has since denied the allegation, maintaining that it was Marcos who exposed the scandal. /jpv