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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
September 13, 2025 | 3:10pm
Protesters wear ghost-like costumes with the faces of Sarah and Curlee Discaya, along with contractor Mark Allan Arevalo, during a rally outside the St. Gerrard Construction Building in Pasig City on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025.
Philstar.com / Martin Ramos
MANILA, Philippines — While President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. acknowledged the public outcry against flood control corruption, the Palace warned against destabilizing actors who want to hijack the momentum.
Asked about the increasingly frequent mass mobilizations against corruption, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos respects the people’s right to free expression.
She added that Marcos supports public sentiment, saying that it is directed against the misuse of public funds.
“Ang dasal lamang po natin, itong kanilang pagsisintemyento ay huwag sanang sakyan ng ibang mga tao na hindi maganda ang naisin para sa gobyerno kung ‘di mag-destabilize,” Castro said in a press briefing on Saturday, September 13.
(Our prayer is, this sentiment of theirs will not be overridden by some other people who do not want anything good for our government other than to destabilize it.)
Castro did not name those destabilizers, or where they are aligned politically.
Different progressive groups have already been holding public demonstrations across the country to protest the flood control anomalies.
A large protest action is expected on September 21 at Luneta Park and other parts of the country.
On Friday, students from the University of the Philippines Diliman staged a massive protest walkout, with thousands of young people slamming the blatant corruption in government.
An exposé from Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson recently revealed that only 40% of a flood control project's budget actually translates to an actual structure, with the remainder going to kickbacks to politicians and government contractors.
Several big names have already been tagged in the ghost flood control projects and kickback schemes, including lawmakers in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Both Chambers of Congress are conducting parallel probes into the matter, with Marcos’ new Independent Commission for Infrastructure also hoping to pin down more names and file cases.
