Raphael Reyes/Rappler
The reason why Marcos can’t bring his flood-control crusade to the finish line isn’t really about his wishy-washy personality. It starts from the original sin — Team Unity — a union of corrupt dynasties.
A pitch-perfect opening to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) continued his 2025 theme of accountability, earning applause from anti-corruption advocates in the audience.
In political performance, however, what’s left out is more important than what’s said. Marcos’ latest SONA contains a black hole that will hound him in his last two years in office.
The President’s 2025 address exposed a massive flood-control scandal. Officials later estimated losses of P118.5 billion from 2022 to 2024 alone, or more than 20 percent of the P545-billion budget for flood control projects. Since then, the President donned the mantle of Mr. Clean — he can’t be dirty because he blew the whistle.
