Marcos on infra woes: ‘Mahiya naman kayo!’

REPORT TO THE NATION President Marcos, during his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) onMonday, stressed his administration’s resolve to fight corruption. Senate President Francis Escudero and Speaker Martin Romualdez, who received fresh mandates to lead their respective chambers, led the joint session of Congress for the President’s Sona.—Marianne Bermudez

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday vowed to run after officials and contractors who profited off flood control projects that malfunctioned during the onslaught of monsoon rains, leaving vast swathes of the country flooded for days.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), the president likewise warned rice trade manipulators and parties involved in lopsided water service agreements that they would face the full force of the law.

Marcos acknowledged the Filipinos’ dismay with the administration, as reflected in the ruling coalition’s poor showing in the May 12 senatorial elections, largely seen as a referendum on his administration.

But in the hour-long address delivered mostly in Filipino, he touted his administration’s accomplishments in delivering basic services, including food, water and electricity, in the last three years, even as he spelled out its roadmap for the next three years.

‘Have some shame’

Marcos spoke at length about addressing the perennial woes in education, including students’ functional illiteracy, before launching into a tirade against profiteers in flood control projects. (See related story on this page.)

“Mahiya naman kayo (Have some shame),’’ he said, eliciting a standing ovation from the motley crowd of lawmakers, government officials, and foreign dignitaries at the plenary hall of the Batasang Pambansa complex.

In his inspection of flood-stricken areas in Metro Manila and other provinces, the president said he was appalled to find that many flood control projects malfunctioned or were “nonexistent.”

“Let’s not pretend anymore. The public knows that there’s racket in projects: kickbacks, initiatives, errata, SOP,” he said, calling bribe money by their informal names.

“So to those who conspire to take the people’s funds and steal the future of our citizens: Have some shame for your fellow Filipinos!” he added.

Marcos has faced backlash from thousands of residents whose villages were submerged following days of monsoon rain that they blamed on idle flood control projects worth billions of pesos.

Reenacted budget

The president promised an audit of all flood control projects implemented on his watch to assess which of these were failures, unfinished, or “ghost” or nonexistent projects.

“By next month, we will file cases against all government officials across the country who will be found liable in this investigation, including the private contractors they were in cahoots with,” he said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Sunday called for a review of the government’s flood control projects, saying half of P2 trillion allotted for these projects since 2011 “may have ended up in some people’s pockets.”

That was why the president declared that he would veto a general appropriations bill that is not fully aligned with Malacañang’s National Expenditure Program that seeks a P6.793-trillion budget for 2026.

“And further, I am willing to do this even if we end up with a reenacted budget. I will not approve any budget that is not aligned with the government’s plan for the Filipino people,” he said.

In his 2025 budget veto message, the president rejected P26.065 billion worth of public works projects on flood mitigation and control.

But critics said the 2025 General Appropriations Act, or the national budge,t was riddled with pork barrel allocations hidden under project allotments for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). As a result, the public works sector got the second largest allocation of P1.007 trillion.

‘Economic sabotage’

The president also promised a P113-billion allocation for agriculture that will fund, among others, the nationwide launch of the “P20 a kilo rice” program by rolling out hundreds of Kadiwa centers, a project that harks back to the administration of his father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“I’m warning traders who will attempt to manipulate the prices of rice and palay or deceive farmers,” he added. “We will run after you for economic sabotage.”

Marcos also took to task local water districts and their joint venture partners for failing to deliver tap water to the homes of more than 6 million consumers across the country.

Marcos said the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) has taken steps to make water accessible to consumers at a reasonable price.

“Above all, we will hold accountable those who neglected and fell short of delivering on this vital public service,’’ he said.

LWUA probe

The president was referring to LWUA’s concluded investigation of consumer complaints against the Villar-owned water service provider PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp.

Customers of PrimeWater had complained of prolonged water interruptions and dirty or murky water coming out of their taps. They also protested the higher rates of PrimeWater compared with other providers.

The president also vowed to put a closure to the case of cockfighting aficionados who were abducted between 2021 and 2022 and, according to a witness, killed before their bodies were supposedly dumped in Taal Lake.

“We will go after and hold accountable the masterminds and all those involved, whether they are civilians or government officials. No matter how powerful, influential, or wealthy they are, they will not be above the law,” he said. /cb

AT A GLANCE

Accomplishments cited by the president:

ECONOMY

• Business confidence up

• Inflation down

• More jobs created

AGRICULTURE

• Over 8.5 million farmers and fisherfolk have received assistance

•Thousands of kilometers of farm-to-market roads built, with thousands more being inaugurated

• Thousands of hectares of land across the country have been irrigated, and more will soon have access to water

ENERGY

• 2. 5 million households provided with electricity

EDUCATION

• Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (Aral) Program started

• Early childhood care strengthened

• P1 billion has been allocated to build 300 Barangay Child Centers and Bulilit Centers across the country

• 22,000 classrooms have already been built

• Tutoring and remedial programs were successful

• Added 60,000 teaching items and work

• Remove the extra paperwork documents for employment of teachers, make process digital

• Additional 2 million students were able to go to school

• Many are now able to attend college and enroll in tech-voc programs

HEALTH, SOCIAL SERVICES

• 5 million beneficiaries of conditional grant of 4Ps

• 1.5 million families graduated from 4Ps program

• More public hospitals and specialized centers

• More towns now have doctors

• Increased benefits for PhilHealth

• Increased kidney transplant budget, covered aftercare

• Increased coverage for dengue and cataract coverage

• Eyeglasses covered by PhilHealth

• Outpatient for emergency covered by PhilHealth

• Increased PWD PhilHealth coverage

• Continuous zero-balance billing for DOH hospitals

• Increased discounts in MRT and LRT for PWDs, students and seniors

TRANSPORTATION

• More discounts every

Sunday in trains

• Dalian trains were finally used in MRT

• Tawi-Tawi bridge to be opened

GOVERNMENT SERVICES

• National Fiber Phase 1, 2, 3 finished

• 19,000 Free Wi-Fi sites around the country

• Improved E-Gov service app

• No more guerrilla forces

• Lower crime rate

• Billions of pesos worth of drugs seized, destroyed

—Compiled by Inquirer Research