Palace urges Pinoys: Keep calm, be patient with flood control mess probe

Stressing that due process cannot be hastened, Malacañang on Tuesday called on the public to be calm and patient as the government makes progress in its probe of personalities for their alleged involvement in the flood control project scandal.

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro was asked about public sentiment that most Filipinos are outraged by the corruption controversy and that some are getting impatient and wish to see people held accountable.

“Okay. Kalma lang muli. Hindi po kasi ito nadadaan sa agad-agaran. Siguro bilang lawyer na ako ay mismong humahawak ng mga kaso at ako po ay humaharap mismo sa korte kaya alam ko po kung paano ba magprisinta ng isang ebidensiya,” Castro said. 

(Okay, let’s be calm. This can’t be done hastily. As a lawyer who has handled cases and as someone who faces hearings in court, I know how to present pieces of evidence.)

“Hindi po ito nadadaan sa pabilisin at kung ito naman ay mapapabilis, napakaganda ng numero, maraming nasampa sa korte pero kalaunan ay na-dismiss po lahat,” she added. 

(This can’t be done in a hurry and sometimes, a lot of cases were filed in courts but they were dismissed in the end.)

She urged the public to allow the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to do its job and complete its probe on the corruption issues hounding infrastructure projects.

The Palace press officer noted that cases may be filed against personalities tagged in the anomalies in the coming weeks.

“Hayaan po lang natin silang makapag-ipon ng mga dokumento at ng mga ebidensiya para po mas matibay ang mga kasong isasampa,” Castro said.

(Let us allow them to collate all the documents and the evidence so that they can build a stronger case for filing.)

“So, iyon lamang po sa taumbayan, huwag po kayong mainip dahil sinimulan na po ito. Kung sabi nga natin kung hindi ito sinimulan ng Pangulo sino ang magsisimula? Kung hindi ang Pangulo ang nagsimula nitong pag-iimbestiga, sino pa kaya ang puwedeng mag-imbestiga?” she added.

(For our countrymen, please do not be impatient because we already started this. If the President did not start this, who would initiate this? If the President didn’t start the probe, who would have done the investigation?) 

A recent OCTA Research survey showed that majority of Filipinos are outraged over the flood control mess and are supportive of inquiries into the issue to hold personalities accountable before the law.

The survey revealed that anger or outrage was the prevalent emotion recorded across all regions, socioeconomic class, and age groups.

Further, the survey showed the top five results that Filipinos want out of the probe:

• Holding corrupt officials and contractors accountable (68%)
• Recovery of lost or misused public funds (58%)
• Imprisonment of those proven guilty (58%)
• Ensuring efficient implementation of quality flood control projects (41%)
• Strengthening transparency and monitoring of government infrastructure projects (34%)

The demand for accountability prevailed across regions and socioeconomic classes. — JMA, GMA Integrated News