Marcos: Gov’t getting solid proof to pin down culprits in flood control scandal

Stressing that the government only has one shot at holding them accountable, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday said authorities are building up solid, strong cases against those implicated in the flood control scandal to prevent those who stole billions of pesos from public funds from walking free.

In his Kapihan press briefing with reporters in Kuala Lumpur after the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, Marcos appealed to the public for patience as the government investigates corruption in infrastructure projects.

The President warned that those responsible for the scandal might end up getting acquitted if cases are filed quickly without solid proof.

“Can you imagine these people who have stolen billions from the government and from the people, nakawala dahil hindi maganda ang pagka-handle ng ebidensiya? That would be a much worse result,” Marcos said.

(Can you imagine these people who have stolen billions from the government and from the people, they end up getting off the hook because the evidence was not handled well? That would be a much worse result.)

“Due process must be observed. We must make sure na alam naman talaga natin kung sino sila. Kaya tiyakin natin na makukulong talaga sila at ang kanilang mga ninakaw ay ibalik sa gobyerno, ibalik sa tao,” he added.

(Due process must be observed. We must make sure that we know who they really are. We will make sure that they will be jailed and they will return the funds they stole from the government, return it to the people.)

The President said he cannot allow a shoddy case build-up against those implicated in the corruption scandal or order authorities to just haul them off to jail as this would destroy the prosecution of the case.

“You cannot charge them again. There is the principle of double jeopardy in the law,” Marcos said.

He added: “I think it’s more important that we get one chance at this. Isa lang ang chance natin. (We just have one chance.) We cannot waste that opportunity to bring justice to those people – to bring those people to justice and to bring justice to the Filipino people.”

Earlier, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said losses from anomalous flood control projects could reach up to trillions of pesos.

Over the weekend, business groups and trade unions urged the President to take “bold, concrete” steps to fight corruption and restore Filipinos’ trust in government institutions amid the flood control scandal.

In response, Malacañang said the government is following due process in investigating the anomaly in order not to break any laws or violate the human rights of those implicated in the flood control controversy.

Marcos said he understood the frustration of Filipinos fed up with corruption and its impact on their lives, but explained that the political arena is very different from the legal arena with its clearly-defined rules and procedures for accountability.

“So, do you want to get it done quickly or do you want to get it done right? That’s the choice that we have. So, I understand the frustration because we do have a very good idea about who these people are. But you have to take them to court. You have to present evidence. They have to be convicted,” he said.

He went on: “I’m sure anyone who has been involved in any kind of legal proceeding we are all very frustrated, especially non-lawyers are very frustrated by how long it takes.”

“Ang sagot naman ng mga abogado sa atin is that may kasabihan sa kanila: the law grinds very slowly but it grinds very well. So, we are counting on that,” Marcos said.

(Lawyers tell us is that they have a saying: the law grinds very slowly but it grinds well. So we are counting on that.)

ICI livestream

Meanwhile, Marcos said the livestream of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s  proceedings would not affect the credibility of its processes.

“They still have to finalize those (rules) so that we have a clear understanding of what is the best way to proceed,” he said.

He stressed that the Palace respects the ICI’s independence in running its affairs and procedures.

“We provide them a budget and we allow them to run everything the way they want, to hire the people that they want. And ‘yung mga substantial matters ay nasa sa kanila ‘yun,” he said.

(We provide them a budget and we allow them to run everything the way they want, to hire the people that they want. And the substantial matters are up to them.)

On Monday, the ICI said it is eyeing to come up with rules on its livestream of proceedings by next month. — JMA, GMA Integrated News