Politics of money

We are all still grappling with the scandalous insertions all over the 2025 budget by the defunct 19th Congress, multi-billion pesos of which went into flood control projects with favored contractors. While we are gasping at the stench of corruption coming out from many alleged “ghost” flood control projects, it is further disheartening to learn many other self-serving local bills passed by the 19th Congress got approved into law.

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

Although President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) signed into law the Congress-approved 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), many of these questioned flood control projects that were not included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) suffered presidential line-item vetoes.

If there is one thing that bodes well for the newly created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI, it is having the official commitment of the President to stay out of their investigations. Organized under Executive Order (EO) No. 94, PBBM reiterated his previous public declarations he will give the ICI a free hand to dig up the alleged “ghost” flood control projects, whoever and wherever the evidence leads them.

PBBM echoed his previous pronouncements after a striptease-like act of Malacañang in the creation of the ICI.

As the President had earlier promised, he issued EO 94 last Sept.11, Thursday. Malacañang announced the next day (Friday) its official creation. Last Saturday, Malacañang bared the designations of the first three ICI members.

And it was only last Monday at a full-blown press conference at Malacañang did PBBM formally announce appointment of retired Supreme Court (SC) associate justice Andres Reyes Jr. as the chairman of the ICI. PBBM declared he will not lift a finger should the ICI go after any of his family members or relatives in Congress, in any government offices, friends and political allies who would be found accountable for any “ghost” projects at the expense of Filipino taxpayers.