Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Representative Leila de Lima expects President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to downplay or bypass the alleged corruption in flood control projects during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27.
The House senior deputy minority leader noted that the President is unlikely to revisit the issue after his previous sharp remarks backfired on the administration.
”It has the tendency of reopening the can of worms that he unwittingly opened in his last SONA when he castigated the scammers,” de Lima said, referencing Marcos’ infamous “Mahiya naman kayo” warning.
De Lima explained that the controversy ultimately rebounded on Malacañang, with critics eventually connecting the President himself to allegations represented by cash-filled “maleta” (luggage).
She added that the administration struggled to manage the fallout after the Chief Executive initially called out the corrupt officials.
”He won’t repeat the same mistake because the flood control scam is the one single issue that Malacañang was not able to handle properly after PBBM himself called out the corrupt officials involved,” the former Justice secretary stated.
”Up to now he is still dealing with the fall out from that SONA.”
While de Lima supports investigating the alleged anomalies, she criticized the Palace-created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) for lacking sufficient teeth, noting she has introduced legislation to strengthen the investigative framework.
Despite her skepticism, the lawmaker said she would respect the President if he decides to confront the controversy directly.
”Despite this, it will be surprising and refreshing if PBBM does not hide from the elephant in the room and he confronts the flood control issue head on in his SONA,” de Lima said.
She emphasized that probe efforts must persist and target all responsible parties—even those currently serving in the administration or aligned with the President.
”We know that there are more investigations to be conducted and more guilty parties to be prosecuted. Some of them are still in government,” she stressed, adding that the administration “should prosecute the flood control scam to the bitter end, even if this means jailing more allies.”
”Then again, this might be too much to ask from PBBM,” de Lima added.