Hold everyone accountable! No junta, no cover-ups!

November is proving to be one hell of a roller coaster ride. Just when the public thought the massive corruption scandal had reached its peak, now believed to be running into the trillions, another episode in this never-ending political drama emerges.

- RONALD LLAMAS

More high-profile officials are now named, with former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo dragging ousted Senate president Chiz Escudero, Sen. Mark Villar, and former senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay. They are now part of a growing list that includes Senators Joel Villanueva’s back-to-back scandal, Jinggoy Estrada’s triple plunder record and former senator Bong Revilla, who may find it hard to “budots” his way out this time.

But the scandal has now gone beyond the halls of the legislature and straight to Malacañang’s door, with former congressman Zaldy Co directly implicating President Bongbong Marcos Jr. in budget insertions. Co claimed that he received instructions from Marcos Jr., through Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and former House speaker Martin Romualdez, to insert P100 billion worth of projects into the 2025 budget.

While alarming, Co’s accusations should be handled with scrutiny. Given how Marcos Jr. and the Dutertes are locked in an existential, zero-sum battle, the first reaction cannot be instant belief nor blanket dismissal. We may take his claims with a grain of salt, but we cannot simply ignore what he said. History has shown that allegations of this magnitude, especially when they involve the highest offices, cannot be swept under the rug.