Marcos says solid cases needed in flood works probe

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sits down with Philip Cu-Unjieng of the Manila Bulletin and his childhood friend for Episode 5 of BBM Podcast, a teaser of which is released by the Presidential Communications Office on Oct. 5, 2025. —PHOTO FROM PCO.

MANILA, Philippines—Despite the strong public clamor to jail all those involved in the flood control scam, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cautioned against a rushed and haphazard investigation into the scandal to ensure that cases filed are backed by concrete evidence.

Mere accusations and testimonies, even those made in congressional hearings, would not lead to convictions if they do not come with proof, Marcos said.

“We know many of these people are not innocent. But if you’re going to bring them to court, you must have a very strong case,” the President told Philip Cu-Unjieng of the Manila Bulletin in an interview to be shown on his “BBM Podcast,” scheduled to begin Monday.

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A teaser of the latest episode of the podcast was released by the Presidential Communications Office on Sunday.

“Look, this is what can happen. We rush the investigation. Our evidence is not complete. Our evidence is muddled. But we still go ahead with the filing of the case. The result: We lose the cases. Can you imagine that?” the President said. “I think that would be much, much, much worse.”

The President created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) last month to investigate all anomalous government infrastructure works, particularly “ghost” and substandard flood-control projects in the past 10 years.

Almost a month after the fact-finding body’s three members were appointed, the ICI has conducted numerous closed-door hearings and summoned various officials and contractors linked to the scam. The commission will recommend the filing of charges based on its findings.

In a previous episode of his podcast, the President vowed to go after the “big fishes” in the corruption scandal once the ICI investigation is completed. /cb