Marcos Talks Tough On Graft As Scandals And Storms Batter His Rule

2025-11-13 05:01:36

(MENAFN- Asia Times) MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday (November 13) vowed to have corrupt public officials linked to shoddy or non-existent infrastructure projects in jail by December, following back-to-back typhoons that left dozens dead and caused floods that displaced over a million people.

Coming one after the other in just a span of a week, Storm Kalmaegi and Super Typhoon Fung-Wong ravaged a large portion of the archipelago the past two weeks, with combined fatalities of over 250 people and over a hundred still missing. The weather disturbances also affected over six million people, of whom 1.8 million are still displaced, the government said.

In the wake of the disaster, Marcos declared a national state of calamity until the year's end, and vowed more emergency funds for the country's overstretched disaster response units, which have been working non-stop since September when two powerful earthquakes struck the central Philippines.

“I know before Christmas... their cases will be over,” Marcos told a news conference.“The cases against them will be complete and they will be jailed. They will not have a 'Merry Christmas.'”

Marcos, however, did not identify the persons he was alluding to, although an independent commission he had set up in September specifically to investigate corruption is known to be looking at several senators and congressmen who allegedly profited from anomalous deals, including his first cousin, who has since stepped down as Speaker of the House.

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