Would You Hit Your Own Head?

And the battle rages on. Were you there at the Trillion Peso March? Apparently, this is the sequel to the rally held some weeks ago. Now, other sectors have been invited to join. Non-participants grumble that they couldn’t go out for coffee on a Sunday afternoon because of the closed roads.

Warrants have been issued and arrests have been made. At least, we’re getting to something concrete and real. People seem to be satisfied. But, I heard some comments that the President should join them. (They mean join them in being arrested.) This is in the principle of ‘kung may sanga, may puno”, in the presumption that if government officials do it, the government head should be the one master orchestrating it all. Of course, this sort of sentiments have been fueled by former Congressman Zaldy Co pointing to President Bongbong Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as the ultimate receivers of the loot. Uhmmmm, why am I not so struck with that supposed revelation?

Would you get a hammer and hit your own head with full force? Would you set your own house on fire? Would you bankrupt your own business?

Before Senate got to talking about flood control projects, they were all going ga-ga on pushing the impeachment, and they were all at each other’s throats over the archiving of the impeachment articles. No one mentioned about corrupt flood control projects. The conversations and subsequent movements began when PBBM called it out in his SONA this year. A highlight of the address was when he yelled “Mahiya naman kayo”, referring to people behind flood control projects which were proven ineffective after the widespread and massive flooding all over Luzon after a strong typhoon. If he’s getting money and a lot of money from it, why would he call it out and expose it. He should have rather kept mum about it, or a more advantageous move would have been to call for more flood control projects to protect us from typhoons that grow stronger due to climate change. In that way, business would boom even more. In that same SONA on July 28, 2025, President Bongbong Marcos vowed to expose and prosecute corruption in flood control projects. He ordered the release of a complete list of flood control projects from the past three years for public scrutiny. (I got this from Wikipedia.) The following month, he revealed initial findings from an audit following the fourth SONA which found that ₱100 billion or around 20% of the Marcos administration's flood control project expenditures, went to only 15 contractors (still from Wikipedia.) (Yes, there’s a Wikipedia page with the title, “Flood Control Project Scandal in the Philippines.) "Sumbong sa Pangulo website was launched which allows citizens to monitor flood control projects, providing data on project location, implementing contractor, total cost, and completion date. The President also ordered BIR and the Ombudsman to conduct lifestyle checks on government officials, especially in DPWH. He later expressed willingness to submit to a lifestyle check and publicize his SALN. He announced the reallocation of nearly ₱36 billion from flood control projects in the proposed 2026 national budget to support social programs under DSWD. Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) was established through Executive Order No. 94 which investigates irregularities in flood control projects and all national government infrastructure works throughout the years. Why would the President do all these if he were the ultimate boss. Some may say, they were all just for show. But, if it were for show, he would just have kept talking about it. But he actually and concretely reallocated budget and established ICI. Allegations of PBBM getting money from corrupt flood control projects, does not make sense and is downright ridiculous, even more ridiculous than allegations that Romualdez is behind this orchestrated flood control scandal to supposedly discredit the Senate.

I’m not a PBBM apologist. I was uncomfortable when he ran for president, even more uncomfortable when he won. We, as a people made a mockery of our own nation, our history, of the heroes who revolted against President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. against Martial Law and human rights violations. It was a mockery against the legacy of People Power Revolution. But he won, and we’re here. As democracy goes, we respect and submit to the duly elected government.

But people who passionately continue to revolt against everything that is “Marcos”, and the Marcos opponents that have sprouted along the way, that includes Duterte Dedicated Supporters are so eager to jump at any chance to discredit the son of the dictator, and the president who coordinated with Interpol for the arrest of former President Duterte.

If your fingers are all swollen, that doesn’t mean that your head is more swollen.

Ecclesiastes 3:17: I said to myself, “God will bring into judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time to judge every deed.”