Makabayan bloc questions Marcos Jr.'s unfulfilled promise to arrest 'big fish' in flood control scam

Rep. Elijah San Fernando and the Makabayan bloc are questioning President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s unfulfilled promise to arrest "big fish" involved in a flood control scam before Christmas.

San Fernando recalled Marcos's statement that those implicated in the corruption scheme would not enjoy a "Merry Christmas" and would be jailed.

However, as of Christmas Day, only contractor Sarah Discaya and a few Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials have been arrested, with no high-ranking officials or elected officials linked to the scandal incarcerated.

The Makabayan bloc criticized Marcos' promise as "empty rhetoric," aimed only at "pacifying public outrage" over the corruption besetting his administration.

They accused the administration of creating the illusion of fighting corruption while actually "protecting the powerful and well-connected."

Lawmakers expressed disappointment that only press releases have been issued since the anomalous projects were exposed, with no tangible results or genuine accountability.

They accused the administration of focusing on image-building rather than delivering actual consequences for corruption, calling it a performance designed to distract from failures.