September 14, 2025 | 11:53 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Philippines on Saturday, as reported by CNA, appointed the first member of an independent commission tasked with investigating a widespread corruption scandal related to fake flood control projects that have implicated many members of parliament.
Public scrutiny of the so-called "ghost" infrastructure projects has intensified since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr put them in the spotlight in his state of the nation address in July. This came after deadly floods for weeks, and he pledged to name names.
"Not one of them is connected with any agency or contractor under investigation," presidential spokesperson Claire Castro said about the fact-finding body members, who will investigate infrastructure projects launched in the past 10 years.
"As the president has said repeatedly, nothing will be considered taboo here - not even relatives, friends, and allies," Castro asserted.
Former Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson and certified public accountant Rossana Fajardo have been appointed as two of the three commission members.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong will serve as a special adviser and investigator.
Marcos will appoint the commission's chairperson "in the next few days," said Castro.
Last week, a construction company owner and former DPWH engineer implicated at least 28 members of parliament and government officials in the flood control scandal. Witnesses said they routinely demanded cuts of 10 to 25 percent from allocated funds.
The new body is empowered to "conduct inquiries, receive testimonies, and receive, gather, review, and evaluate evidence, reports, and information," according to an executive order issued by the president on Thursday.
The body can also request that funds and properties believed to be connected to fraudulent flood control and infrastructure projects be seized or frozen. However, they do not have the authority to take action on their own.
On Monday, former Philippine Senate president Francis Escudero was replaced by Vicente Sotto III amid ongoing investigations by both houses of Congress into the flood control scandal.
Escudero's name was linked to one of the country's major flood control project contractors. It was a disclosure he called a "demolition job" aimed at ousting him from the Senate's top post.
The Department of Finance estimates that the Philippines' economy suffered losses of up to 118.5 billion pesos or around $2.3 billion from 2023 to 2025 due to corruption in flood control projects.
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