Vows to root out corruption
A visibly unsettled and teary-eyed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. admitted yesterday he is deeply affected by corruption in government, but said he has no regrets being president as it gives him the opportunity to reform the system.
“Yes, because I’m very upset,” Mr. Marcos replied when asked about his emotional state by veteran news anchor Vicky Morales during an interview.
“I’m not disheartened, I’m not disappointed… I am very angry,” the chief executive added during the podcast.
However, Mr. Marcos also said that he has never once regretted running for President despite the enormity of the problem, particularly corruption.
“No. Not for one moment,” he emphasized.
“Because I’m given the opportunity, the privilege to actually do something. All of the things I complained about all my life, now I can do something about it,” the chief executive pointed out.
Now, the President said his priority is to hold culprits accountable and repair the system, as Malacañang prepares to issue an executive order creating an independent commission to investigate anomalies in flood control projects
Mr. Marcos pointed out that ordinary Filipinos must not be made to suffer but rather, the people who seek to get rich by plundering the country’s coffers to fund their lavish lifestyle.
“How can you do this to people that have worked everyday of their lives, they have done nothing but work, they have sacrificed hard for very little just to be able to send money home, just to be able to feed their family, send their children to school, that’s what they want in life, you still take it from them to buy a Rolls-Royce. A horrible, horrible situation,” he said.
The chief executive said that no one, even relatives and friends, will be spared in his administration’s efforts to cleanse the government of corruption.
“They kept saying how about if these were your friends, how about if these were all your allies, I said we are making an omelette, we’ll break some eggs, there’s just no way around it,” the President warned.
He also said that the commission currently being assembled will have the power to investigate “everything and everyone” who were involved in the flood control project corruption.
“We will give them all the powers that are necessary, for them to come to a conclusion to come to some findings so that we can know what happened and there is one more thing here that is very important to me because of the depth of the problem. I really want to know how we got to this point,” Mr. Marcos said.
The President also urged Filipinos who are seeking to live abroad because they are fed up with corruption in the Philippine government to have hope, and consider staying.
“There’s hope, have hope, we have seen all of what people are complaining about or having to live with, what they have to endure, to endure day by day in their lives, we know that and everything we do, we will do,” he said.
As this developed, an executive order creating an independent commission to investigate alleged anomalies in flood control projects is ready for the President’s signature, Malacañang announced on Sunday.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said the proposed commission underwent a “serious study” and is envisioned to provide the public with a credible mechanism to scrutinize irregularities.
“We expect that in its final form, the executive order will be welcomed by the people because that is what we are doing, everything for the people,” he told reporters in an ambush interview at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Bersamin did not divulge the independent commission’s composition amid speculation that former Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Nicolas Torre III, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong would be included in the body.
