Where is the Anti-Corruption President?
Bongbong Marcos has talked tough about corruption. Four years into his presidency, why are Filipinos still being asked to take so much on faith?
On November 9, jail authorities told the Sandiganbayan that some of the CCTV footage the court wanted to review had already been overwritten. The court had asked for a record of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s whereabouts since his September 14 transfer to the Payatas jail, where he is being held while facing a plunder charge tied to the alleged flood-control scam.
The jail superintendent maintained that Romualdez had never left the facility. The columnist who claimed he had been coming and going retracted the allegation. The court still asked for vehicle logs, gate passes, and records showing who had access to the CCTV system. If the footage is incomplete, what can those records establish? That is a reasonable question to ask of any jail. It should be especially easy to understand why the public is asking it now.
Then came the explanation about his personal assistant.
Jail Superintendent Maria Lourdes Pacion initially said Romualdez had an assistant in detention. She later told the court she had been rattled and answered incorrectly. Arvin de Guzman, she clarified, was an authorized visitor who accompanied him during visiting hours. His lawyers cited his medical needs. Pacion said the arrangement followed jail rules, although she could not recall who submitted the request.
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The shifting explanation gives the public another reason to demand clear records. What access was granted, who approved it, and would an ordinary detainee receive the same consideration?
Bongbong’s Budget, Under Scrutiny
Look at the ₱7.2-trillion National Expenditure Program for 2027. It is called the President’s Budget because it is the spending proposal his administration sends to Congress. The Department of Budget and Management says it reviewed more than ₱11 trillion in agency requests and prioritized projects that were necessary, ready to implement and likely to deliver the greatest benefit. That is the administration’s own standard. Let’s apply it.
BetterGov.ph has made the proposed allocations searchable. The People’s Budget Coalition has warned that questionable practices associated with the flood-control scandal could return, and it has flagged spending on farm-to-market roads and irrigation for scrutiny. The Senate has separately identified thousands of public works projects added at the House stage without initial executive vetting. Congress can answer for those additions. Malacañang can answer for the proposal it sent over. Which projects were ready to build? Who checked? Where can the public see the basis for those decisions?
There is a price for getting those decisions wrong. When a flood-control project fails, the sari-sari store owner replaces ruined stock out of her own pocket. The worker who cannot get to work loses a day’s pay. Both have already paid for the project through their taxes. They pay again when it fails.
The Public’s Verdict
Filipinos have already given the administration a verdict on its performance. In Pulse Asia’s July survey, 68% disapproved of its handling of corruption. In the same survey, 43% cited corruption as an urgent national concern, second to inflation at 57%. OCTA found that concern about graft rose from 26% in March to 32% in July. When Tangere asked what people wanted from the President’s State of the Nation Address, the largest share, 48.3%, wanted concrete solutions to current problems. Another 35.6% called for anti-corruption measures and government reform. All of that was before the November update on the jail footage.
What the Corporate Records Show
Then came another episode in the Romualdez story. On November 5, the group Happy Go Lucky PH claimed it had obtained corporate records from three listed companies it linked to the former Speaker. Some of the transactions it highlighted can already be traced through public filings. Prime Media, for example, reported about ₱874 million in outstanding loans to Philippine CollectiveMedia Corporation in its June 2026 quarterly report. That filing establishes a corporate loan balance. Whether public money entered any of the transactions highlighted by the group, and what information ever reached the President, remain open questions.
Mr. President, what has your administration done and what is it doing to make sure investigators can follow the records wherever they lead?
The Credibility Test for 2028
This is where the anti-corruption drive starts to look like theater. There is always another hearing, another explosive allegation, another clip for the evening news. Meanwhile, the public is still waiting for answers it can check. The court wants a record of who went in and out of Romualdez’s detention facility. Budget watchdogs want to see why projects made the cut. And the President owes to tell us what his administration did when credible warnings reached it.
By 2028, we will hear another round of promises to clean up the government. Before we ask who will fight corruption in the next administration, we should ask the man in Malacañang what he has done with the power to fight it now.
