Palace maintains Marcos 'blameless' over flood control mess

Malacañang maintained that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. is ''blameless'' in the anomalies and irregularities in flood control projects.

During a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked if Malacañang maintains that Marcos is blameless over the issue, as several personalities were implicated in this mess.

''Opo, dahil hindi po maglalakas ng loob ang Pangulo na siya pa mismo ang magpapaimbestiga kung alam niya sa sarili niya na mayroon siyang maling ginawa,'' Castro responded.

(Yes, because the President will not order an investigation if he himself was involved in the anomalies.) 

Asked about the principle of command responsibility since he signed the controversial 2025 budget and he appointed the implicated individuals, Castro said the President vetoed items that are not aligned with his administration's policies, adding that he also trusted his Cabinet members.

''Unang-una po, pinirmahan po niya 'yan may mga naveto, inaral po 'yan ng economic team at nandodoon po ang kanyang paniniwala sa mga isinasaad at sinasabi ng kanyang Cabinet secretaries,'' she said.

(First of all, there were items that were vetoed, the economic team looked into that, and there's his trust in the statements made by his Cabinet secretaries.)

''So with that, naipakita 'yung supposed to be projects at 'yan po ay kanyang pinirmahan sa paniniwalang 'yan ay gagawin,'' she added. 

(So with that, the supposed projects were shown, and he signed them in confidence that these would be implemented.) 

When the President noticed the irregularities, Castro said he immediately ordered an investigation.

It was during his fourth SONA last July 28 when the President promised to crack the whip on public officials who profited from the government’s infrastructure projects, including flood control projects.

An Independent Commission for Infrastructure was created to look into these anomalies.—LDF, GMA Integrated News