President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. deserves one presumption that critics have been reluctant to grant him: a president knowingly profiting from the flood-control racket would have taken an extraordinary risk when he publicly set the scandal ablaze.
During his 2025 State of the Nation Address, Marcos ordered officials to expose failed, substandard and possibly fictitious flood-control projects. “Mahiya naman kayo sa mga kabahayan nating naanod o nalubog sa mga pagbaha,” (“Have you no shame for our countrymen whose homes were swept away or submerged by the floods?”) he thundered, before rebuking those who would leave the resulting debts for Filipino children to pay.
A year later, the fire reached his family. Marcos told the nation that the expected prosecution of his cousin, former House speaker Martin Romualdez, pains him but the investigation must proceed. He declared, “Hindi ako ang Pangulo ng aking pamilya. Hindi ako ang Pangulo ng aking mga kaibigan. Ako ang Pangulo ng Pilipinas.” (“I am not the President of my family. I am not the President of my friends. I am the President of the Philippines.”)
Romualdez answered: “Masakit man ito sa aming pamilya, iginagalang ko ang naging pahayag ng Pangulo. Hindi ako kailanman humingi ng pabor o espesyal na pagtrato. Sang-ayon ako na gawin natin ang tama.” (“Although this is painful for our family, I respect the President’s statement. I have never asked anyone for favors or special treatment. I agree that we must do what is right.”) He added that due process should be followed, the evidence allowed to speak, and his innocence tested fairly.
