Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos says corruption scandal protests justified

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos mentioned on Monday (September 15, 2025) he didn’t blame individuals for collaborating in road protests “one bit” as anger mounts over a corruption scandal involving phony flood management initiatives.

The infrastructure scandal has prompted a sequence of protests throughout the capital Manila in latest weeks, together with one involving about 3,000 college students on the University of the Philippines campus.

While most demonstrations to date have largely been small-scale, an annual protest tied to the 1972 declaration of martial legislation by Marcos’s father is anticipated to attract massive crowds on Sunday (September 14, 2025).

The Southeast Asian nation’s military has been positioned on “purple alert” as a precaution.

At a Monday (September 15, 2025) press briefing the place he named a former Supreme Court justice head of an investigatory physique, Marcos mentioned the general public’s anger was justified.

“To present that you’re enraged, to indicate that you’re offended, to indicate that you’re disenchanted, to indicate that you really want justice… What’s improper with that?” Mr. Marcos mentioned at at a press briefing.

“I don’t blame them. Not one bit”.

He additionally reiterated a pledge that associates and allies “wouldn’t be spared” when quizzed about his cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, whose title was introduced up by witnesses at hearings into the scandal final week.

Mr. Romualdez, who has denied any involvement, is one in every of quite a few lawmakers positioned within the highlight by the widening scandal.

Hearings

Last week, the house owners of a development agency accused almost 30 House members and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officers of taking money funds.

Mr. Marcos on Monday (September 15, 2025) introduced former Supreme Court justice Andres Reyes would head a three-person fee tasked with wanting into the previous 10 years of flood management initiatives.

While the physique could have the ability to conduct hearings and evaluation proof, they don’t seem to be authorised to unilaterally levy punishments.

The Philippines has a protracted historical past of scandals involving public funds, by which high-ranking politicians discovered responsible of corruption have usually escaped critical jail time.

The Department of Finance has estimated that the Philippine financial system misplaced as much as 118.5 billion pesos ($2 billion) from 2023 to 2025 because of corruption in flood management initiatives.

Vince Dizon, an economist and political aide underneath a number of administrations, earlier this month took the reins of the DPWH, whose popularity has taken a extreme hit.

On Monday (September 15, 2025), he dismissed three company officers in Bulacan province north of Manila, long-plagued by flooding, for misconduct and gross neglect of obligation.