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By JIM GOMEZ
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A significant crackdown on corruption has led Philippine authorities to mobilize police and other law enforcement units to apprehend 18 individuals linked to a scandal surrounding flood control projects. This issue has ignited massive public demonstrations and compelled some top congressional figures to resign from their positions, as confirmed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials on Friday.
President Marcos is actively working to address the widespread public frustration stemming from these corruption allegations. The scandal has been attributed to the poor quality, faulty, or even non-existent flood control initiatives in a nation that frequently faces devastating typhoons and flooding, characteristic of the tropical Asian climate.
The Sandiganbayan, a dedicated anti-corruption court, has issued arrest warrants for Zaldy Co, a former member of the House of Representatives who has since absconded to an undisclosed location, along with 17 others. These individuals include government engineers and executives from Sunwest Corp., a construction company embroiled in the irregularities of a flood control project in Oriental Mindoro province.
Due to the extensive nature of the corruption involved in the 289 million pesos ($4.8 million) river dike project, government prosecutors have advised against granting bail to the accused.
In a video address, Marcos emphasized, “They will be apprehended, brought before the court, and held accountable for their actions.” He further assured the public, “There will be no special privileges, and no one will be exempt from justice.”
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and the National Bureau of Investigation said law enforcement teams have been deployed to arrest the suspects. The Interpol would be asked to help track and arrest Co through a Red Notice if he’s still out of the country, Remulla said, adding that the former lawmaker was last spotted in Japan a few days ago.
An immigration order has been issued to prevent the suspects in the Philippines from leaving the country, officials said.
Last week, Marcos said many of at least 37 powerful senators, members of Congress and wealthy construction executives implicated in the corruption scandal would be in jail by Christmas.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, a key prosecutor in charge of fighting government corruption, told The Associated Press that at least five former and incumbent senators were under investigation for allegedly pocketing huge kickbacks in the faulty flood control projects. Among them is former Senate President Chiz Escudero, who has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Those implicated include lawmakers opposed to and allied with Marcos, including Rep. Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin and key ally, who has denied any involvement but has stepped down as House of Representatives speaker. Sen. Bong Go, a key ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has also come under suspicion but has denied any wrongdoing.
Duterte was arrested in March and detained by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity over his deadly anti-drugs crackdowns.
He is a harsh critic of Marcos and father of the incumbent vice president, Sara Duterte, who has said that the president should also be held accountable and jailed for signing into law the 2025 national budget that carried appropriations for irregular infrastructure projects.
Aides have defended Marcos from allegations linking him to the irregularities, saying that he first raised alarm over them in July in his annual state of the nation address before Congress.
At least 9,855 flood control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9 billion) that were supposed to have been undertaken since Marcos took office in mid-2022 are under investigation. In September, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told legislators that up to 118.5 billion pesos ($2 billion) for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption since 2023.
