President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. should not lead an anti-corruption campaign and instead should be the target of the people’s outrage against the unabated corruption in the bureaucracy, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan declared in a statement.
“Marcos enjoins the people to join him in an anti-corruption crusade when he himself plays a leading, if not the most decisive, role in preserving this bankrupt political system,” Bayan said.
Members of Bayan environmental groups, urban poor residents, and anti-corruption advocates condemn the anomalous flood control projects and widespread corruption in the government.
Bayan emphasized that the scandal is not merely a case of bureaucratic negligence but a reflection of entrenched “bureaucrat capitalism,” where politicians exploit their positions to plunder public funds and entrench dynastic power.
“Contractors, DPWH, and politicians are busy pointing fingers, but none are taking responsibility for the systematic misuse of public funds,” Bayan said.
“The DPWH absurdly feigns surprise about the ghost projects when it is the lead agency supervising the country’s infrastructure program. It remains the *ground zero* of corruption in the government.”
The group called for the expansion of the ongoing probe to cover all Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) contracts, citing a long history of pork barrel-linked anomalies.
Bayan accused Marcos Jr. of enabling and institutionalizing corruption through his control over the national budget.
“Aside from DPWH and the notorious contractors and their patrons in Congress, the substandard and ghost flood control projects should be linked to the corrupt leadership of Marcos Jr. It is his office which drafted the national budget, allowed congressional insertions, and signed the pork barrel-infested budget bill into law,” the statement read.
Despite public pronouncements on transparency and clean governance, Bayan argued that Marcos Jr. has presided over the largest pork barrel allocations and outspent Vice President Sara Duterte in the use of confidential funds.
“He pretends to be outraged over massive graft when it was his family that normalized the plunder of the country’s wealth,” Bayan added.
“Marcos enjoins the people to join him in an anti-corruption crusade when he himself plays a leading—if not the most decisive—role in preserving this bankrupt political system.”
The group likened the current scandal to the infamous Napoles pork barrel scam, asserting that corruption has only grown more sophisticated and brazen. They urged citizens to take action beyond outrage.
“Expose all graft-ridden projects, name and shame corrupt officials, and organize local and bigger protests to hold the Marcos government accountable for being the biggest thieving gang in the country.” (ZIA LUNA)
