Position Paper of Timpuyog Pilipinas On the Need to Create for a Special Investigation Team to Address Flood Control Corruption Urging President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to Take Executive Action Beyond Senate Political Grandstanding

 

Introduction

 

Timpuyog Pilipinas, as a socio-political movement advocating federalism, integrity, and genuine service to the Filipino people, expresses deep concern over the continuing revelations of corruption in flood control projects across the country. The recent disclosures, echoed in the privilege speech of former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, reveal a systemic abuse of government funds, involving not only contractors but also public officials and even legislators.

 

These anomalies, amounting to billions of pesos, are not mere accounting errors. They represent stolen opportunities—roads that could have been built, classrooms that could have been opened, hospitals that could have saved lives. Every peso lost to corruption is a peso stolen from the Filipino people.

 

The Problem: Political Grandstanding vs. Genuine Reform

 

While the Senate has initiated inquiries on the matter, Timpuyog Pilipinas maintains that such hearings often devolve into spectacles of political grandstanding. Senators gain airtime, reputations are smeared, and yet, after hours of hearings, little to no accountability is achieved. The public grows cynical while the corrupt learn to maneuver around the same political circus.

 

The gravity of the situation demands that we do not leave the fate of this issue in the hands of politicians who may have vested interests. We cannot allow the investigation of corruption to be reduced to a stage play.

 

 

The Call: Executive-Led Integrity Investigation

 

Timpuyog Pilipinas urges President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PBBM) to immediately:

 

1.    Place all officials and personnel mentioned in the Flood Control anomalies on “floating status”—relieved from sensitive positions while undergoing investigation, to prevent influence-peddling, document tampering, or witness intimidation.

 

2.    Form a Special Investigation Team on Integrity (SITI), patterned after the screening committees used in the Philippine National Police (PNP). This team must be composed of men and women of unquestionable integrity, drawn from retired justices, incorruptible civil servants, and respected members of the academe and civil society.

 

3.    Exclude the investigation from purely legislative control, ensuring that fact-finding is not drowned by political noise. The Senate may still provide oversight, but the primary investigation must remain insulated from partisanship.

 

4. Ensure transparency and public accountability by publishing verified findings and enforcing lifestyle checks on implicated officials, with swift filing of administrative and criminal cases where warranted.

 

Rationale

 

Flood control projects are not luxuries; they are lifelines. In a country ravaged yearly by typhoons and floods, every substandard project or ghost construction magnifies suffering. Corruption in this sector kills—by worsening floods, destroying livelihoods, and robbing people of protection.

PBBM’s leadership is tested in moments like these. Will his government allow political games to continue, or will he act decisively to cleanse the bureaucracy? By forming a special integrity body with no allegiance to political factions, the administration can demonstrate that accountability is not selective, and that integrity is not negotiable.

Conclusion and Challenge

 

Timpuyog Pilipinas stands firmly with the Filipino people in demanding that this issue be addressed with urgency and sincerity. We challenge the PBBM government to go beyond the theatrics of Senate hearings and to take bold executive action.

 

Let us place the corrupt on floating status, empower a special team of integrity-driven investigators, and prove that the government still belongs to the people, not to the greedy few.

 

Corruption in flood control is not just a scandal—it is a betrayal of national survival. It is an act terrorism that destroys property and kills thousands of people and it is a clandestine crime against humanity.

 

Timpuyog Pilipinas will not remain silent. We call upon PBBM to act now.

Timpuyog Pilipinas

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