Pulse Asia Survey Releases Details on Public Distrust Towards Pres. Bongbong Marcos amid the Issues in PH
BONGBONG MARCOS – The latest Pulse Asia Survey found that the public distrust to the President is due to the unsolved flood control mess.
Amid the flood control mess, several government officials were tagged in the supposed multi-billion flood control corruption in the Philippine government. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have become a target of criticisms after many of their officials were tagged in the issue.
Aside from the DPWH officials, several members of the House of Representatives were also tagged in the alleged flood control corruption. Both the House and the Senate had a leadership change after some senators, including then Senate Pres. Chiz Escudero, were implicated in the issue.
However, not only former House Speaker Martin Romualdez was tagged by Zaldy Co in the supposed flood control corruption but as well as Pres. Bongbong Marcos. The resigned House Budget Appropriations Committee Chairman who is tagged as one of the main role players in the issue claimed that Marcos Jr. and Romualdez allegedly received millions of kickbacks.
Malacañang defended Marcos Jr. saying that Co implicated the President because he allegedly wants the investigation to stop. Amid the flood control mess, the Chief Executive ordered the creation of an independent body tasked to investigate the infrastructure projects of the government.
The order of Pres. Bongbong Marcos led to the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure. The ICI has recently turned over the flood control documents to the Department of Justice (DOJ) as its operation is only until March 31.
In their 125-day report to Pres. Bongbong Marcos, the ICI previously noted the following “substantial” results from the flood control investigation:
- Nine referrals, covering 65 implicated individuals, submitted to the Ombudsman, one of which was made with the Department of Public Works and Highways
- 66 individuals referred to the Department of Justice for the issuance of Immigration Lookout Bulletin Orders (ILBOs)
- 32 hearings covering 36 witnesses, including 20 legislators and five agency heads
- 16 site inspections nationwide
- 1,173 documents processed
- 6,692 bank accounts of implicated individuals frozen or subjected to freeze orders
- P24.7 billion worth of assets seized, preserved, frozen or surrendered, according to the Anti-Money Laundering Council. This includes 229 vehicles, 394 insurance policies, 161 real properties, 16 e-wallet accounts and 10 air assets
- Eight inter-agency coordination meetings conducted and six legislative sessions attended
- Three hearings livestreamed
Recently, the Pulse Asia Survey found that the public distrust towards Pres. Bongbong Marcos has something to do with the flood control corruption. Based on News5, one of the main reasons for the distrust is the alleged lack of accountability in the flood control scam.
Based on the results of the survey, 16.7% of the respondents claimed that they don’t trust Pres. Bongbong Marcos for allegedly not being able to hold the culprits of the flood control mess liable. On the other side, based on the post, 28.6% said they trust PBBM for supposedly revealing and fighting corruption in the government.
Previously, ahead of the next national polls, Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco expressed his belief that Vice Pres. Sara Duterte will hold the flood control culprits accountable if she wins the 2028 elections.