President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. respects the people’s right to freedom of expression and supports any movement to fight corruption, Malacañang on Saturday said.
“The President will always respect this freedom of expression. Whatever sentiments our countrymen are feeling right now, the President respects that,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing.
Castro issued the statement as various groups prepare for a large demonstration on September 21 to condemn the reported corruption in flood-control projects.
She said Mr. Marcos supports the expression of public grievances, which she described as “a fight against corruption.”
“We only pray that their sentiments would not be taken advantage of by people with ill intentions toward the government who aim to destabilize it,” Castro said.
The President shone the spotlight on substandard and even “ghost” flood-control projects in his fourth State of the Nation Address in July, following a series of typhoons that left a trail of devastation across several parts of the country.
“Shame on you. Be ashamed because our fellow Filipinos were swept by floods or were submerged in floodwaters. Be ashamed of our children who will inherit that debt incurred because of what you committed, because you pocketed the funds,” he said.
“Let us not pretend anymore. The whole public already knows the racketeering going on involving the projects – kickbacks, initiative, errata, SOP (standard operating procedures), ‘for the boys.’”
The President also launched the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website which lists down flood-control projects and the contractors that handled them.
Mr. Marcos likewise identified the top 15 contractors that cornered almost P100 billion – or about 20 percent of the total amount of flood-control projects across the country – from July 2022 to May 2025.
The revelations have since triggered separate hearings at the House of Representatives and the Senate, and parallel probes and audits at the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Ombudsman and Commission on Audit.
The President also created an independent commission to probe the flood-control projects, with a focus on those that were implemented in the last 10 years.
The Church Leaders Council for National Transformation earlier urged Filipinos joining the protest dubbed “A Trillion Peso March” on September 21 at the EDSA People Power Monument to wear white shirts “as a symbol of unity and hope.”
A separate rally will be held at Luneta Park dubbed “Baha Sa Luneta: Aksyon Na Laban sa Korapsyon!”
Yesterday, protesters also marched from the EDSA Shrine to the People Power Monument to denounce alleged anomalies in government flood-control projects.
Among the groups that joined the rally were Bayan NCR, Anakbayan, Kabataan, Panday Sining, and other sectoral organizations.
