The Senate as graft buster

VIRTUAL REALITY

- TONY LOPEZ

The Senate is about to redeem itself. It is investigating the largest syndicated plunder ever to overwhelm this beloved country, the over P1 trillion lost due to the flood control scam perpetrated in the last 15 years and which exploded into scandalous proportions beyond belief in the past three years.

This is a legislative body that is not exactly a hotbed of virtues. In fact, many Filipinos now think of the Senate as a house of scoundrels. A number of them are sponsors of the flood control scam and hugely benefited from it.

Senate President Chiz Escudero has seized on an issue that has outraged the entire nation. Bringing clarity and accountability to the issue will endear him and his 23 colleagues, 19 of them Duterte diehards, to the people and, perchance, enhance his ambitions for higher office.

Leading the charge is Rodante Marcoleta, 72, whose devout loyalty to Digong Duterte won him a senatorial seat last May, despite the odds, and chairmanship of the anti-graft 17-member Senate Blue Ribbon committee. He is a lawyer, a television host and wears a forever frown—qualities that should yield purposefulness, drama and results to the hearings.

Excerpts from Marcoleta's opening statement on Aug. 19, 2025, the first day of the hearings:

The root of the issue before us boils down to the rampant corruption entangled with the core of our government. Tila sakit na kanser na siyang unti-unting sumisira sa ating bansa. Records will show that billions are spent every year to fund flood control projects that are supposed to control or mitigate flooding in our country. The magnitude of this issue cannot be understated. Funds are wasted over questionable projects. Lives and properties are lost due to failures in flood control. Enough is enough.