President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed that no one would be spared in his campaign against corruption. Yet what has emerged is a selective and politicized enforcement of accountability, where those closest to power appear insulated, while critics, whistleblowers, and expendable figures are pursued with unusual zeal. This is not coincidence. It is a pattern.
SENATE BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE DEFANGED
Under Senator Rodante Marcoleta, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (SBRC) began peeling back the layers of what many now regard as the most massive corruption scandal in Philippine history, centered on flood control projects.
The committee was closing in on the masterminds until the process was abruptly disrupted. Marcoleta was unseated as SBRC chair in a Senate coup, replaced by Senator Panfilo Lacson. With the change in leadership came a decisive shift in direction. The pursuit of big fish gave way to the rounding up of small fries.
Instead of extracting truth, key witnesses were discredited. Whistleblowers such as Orly Goteza and the Discaya couple, who were prepared to name names, suddenly found themselves under relentless attack.
ZALDY CO: CHIEF ARCHITECT OR CONVENIENT SCAPEGOAT?
In a move that has stunned observers, former Congressman Zaldy Co has been publicly portrayed as the chief architect of the flood control corruption scandal.
The claim strains credulity. To suggest that a former legislator, without command of the bureaucracy and without control over implementing agencies, could orchestrate a corruption scheme of this magnitude defies political and bureaucratic reality.
A CONVENIENT FALL GUY
The narrative serves a clear political purpose. It redirects public outrage away from those presently in power and toward a figure safely removed from the centers of influence. It allows the real beneficiaries and protectors of the scheme to remain untouched.
It is not accountability.
It is misdirection, the magician’s oldest trick.
THE ILLUSION OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION
The Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) was created to project seriousness and neutrality. In reality, it was devoid of real enforcement authority.
Although the ICI reportedly recommended the filing of cases against House Speaker Martin Romualdez, nothing has materialized. The recommendation remains frozen in bureaucratic limbo, reinforcing the perception that the commission’s true function was not justice but delay, deflection, and the diffusion of public outrage.
GENERAL ROMEO POQUIZ: HONOR CODE CRIMINALIZED
General Romeo Poquiz, once aligned with President Marcos, broke his silence after witnessing what he described as systemic corruption and impunity. He acted in fidelity to the Philippine Military Academy Honor Code:
You shall not lie.
You shall not steal.
You shall not tolerate those who do.
For his adherence to principle, Poquiz was slapped with an inciting to sedition charge, a chilling warning to the ranks that conscience is dangerous and silence is safe.
COL. AUDIE MONGAO: RELIEVED AND INVESTIGATED
Colonel Audie Mongao followed a similar path -- withdrawal of political support for the President while reaffirming fidelity to the Constitution only to be relieved of command and placed under investigation.
The pattern is unmistakable: Those who speak are punished. Those who comply are protected.
THE OMBUDSMAN AS A POLITICAL WEAPON
Despite unresolved cases that should have rendered him ineligible, former Justice Crispin “Boying” Remulla was appointed Ombudsman.
Since then, cases against administration critics have moved with remarkable speed. Allegations involving Romualdez and other presidential allies, meanwhile, have gone nowhere.
An office constitutionally designed as a firewall against abuse has been transformed into a shield for allies and a weapon against critics.
FEARLESS CONGRESSMEN IN THE CROSSHAIRS
Congressmen Leandro Leviste and Kiko Barzaga, among the few willing to challenge the administration’s narrative, are now facing intense political pressure and coordinated attacks.
Their crime is not corruption. It is defiance.
THE SILENCING OF A KEY WHISTLEBLOWER
Retired Marine Sergeant Orly Goteza, who directly named Romualdez as a recipient of billions of pesos in kickbacks, is now nowhere to be found.
He is reportedly in custody under opaque circumstances, raising grave concerns about coercion, intimidation, and the suppression of testimony.
In any functioning democracy, whistleblowers are protected. Here, they disappear.
THE REAL SCANDAL: CRIMINALIZING TRUTH
The attempt to recast Zaldy Co as mastermind, the persecution of military officers, the sidelining of Senate investigators, and the silencing of whistleblowers all point to a single objective: Protect the powerful. Sacrifice the expendable. Silence the rest.
THIS ADMINISTRATION CANNOT EVADE RESPONSIBILITY
The question is no longer whether corruption exists.
The question is who is being protected and why.
A genuine anti-corruption campaign does not require fall guys. It requires courage, equal justice, and institutions that answer to the people.
Until then, the promise of President Marcos that no one will be spared remains the most troubling lie of all.
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