First, the Filipino people were scammed of billions of pesos by corrupt legislators and government officials.
Last week, Filipinos discovered that they were “shammed,” believing that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) had the full support and blessing of President Bongbong Marcos and would be allowed to carry out their mandate.
Instead, a public relations demolition job was conducted against ICI special adviser Mayor Benjie Magalong, where he was portrayed as conflicted and possibly remiss in his duties as mayor of Baguio City.
“Adding insult to injury,” aspersions from leftists also claimed he had potential conflict of interest because a tennis court in Baguio City was built by one of the contractors/companies now implicated in the multibillion-peso infrastructure anomalies and ghost projects.
How can such a claim be dignified by the public and Malacañang, knowing Mayor Magalong was the principal or prime mover for investigating DPWH anomalies? He was the one who called out Congress on the anomalies!
Like twisting the knife in his back, Malacañang claimed that “Magalong was just appointed as ‘Special Adviser’ and not ‘Lead Investigator’ or in any other form of investigation. He was not appointed to investigate and has no power over the PNP or the CIDG because these are under the DILG.”
Thanks to netizens, digital evidence immediately surfaced on Facebook that on Sept.13, 2025 Malacañang announced: “Mayor Benjamin ‘Benjie’ Magalong – Special Advisor and who will act as Investigator for the ICI. Mayor Magalong is a career law enforcement officer who served as deputy director general of the Philippine National Police.”
“Sham” seems to be the operative word that now applies to any attempt by Congress, the Senate and even the ICI in various efforts to investigate the greatest robbery in the Philippines: the DPWH ghost projects.
The pattern that is now emerging is when the “lead investigator” is gaining public trust and support for being effective and competent, that person gets maligned in media, trolled on social media and replaced.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta started the ball rolling in the Senate until someone in the halls of Congress managed to throw a monkey wrench in the investigation by dragging senators into the scandal.
As things got scary for Malacañang, a coup d’etat took place in the Senate that dethroned Chiz Escudero and placed Tito Sotto as Senate President.
Senator Marcoleta was instantly replaced by Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson as head of the Blue Ribbon committee. After another good start, the senators now find themselves in a septic tank of deception, dirty tricks and internal feuding.
Speaking of targeted, maligned and trolled, Cavite Representative Kiko Barzaga was also singled out by legislators in Congress who are allies of ex-speaker Martin Romualdez. Cong. Barzaga’s sin was having the courage to stand up to Romualdez and Zaldy Co.
A lot of other stuff has gotten into the mix, but people are now more convinced than ever and saying that as far as President Bongbong Marcos is concerned, “blood is thicker than water” or he is making sure that the suspicion and accusations do not land on his shoes.
On at least three occasions, when asked by reporters for his opinion regarding the accusations against his cousin Martin Romualdez, PBBM always cautioned people “not to be judgmental” or said that “accusations are common for people in public office” and “we should not jump to conclusions.”
That is cold comfort for many people who expect him to distance himself from friend or family and assure the public that anyone guilty will be punished.
As I reviewed comments from many media people and the public, it is possible that the activity and manner of investigation being done by the ICI has made the suspects and the suspected nervous.
The ICI and its members have done such a good job of keeping their proceedings confidential that some media practitioners call the silence an “embargo.” It is “The Unknown” that operators cannot influence or control or turn into another circus in order to sabotage any attempt to hunt down all the guilty people.
While DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon has said a lot to the media, he is not part of the ICI panel and his investigations alongside Mayor Magalong are at ground level or on-site, with the media tagging along.
Mayor Magalong has been circumspect about public pronouncements ever since he was appointed to the “ghost position” of Lead Investigator. Judging from all of this, we might end up offering prayers for ghost projects and fugitives on Nov. 1.
The thing we should be worried about is the sense of urgency and expectation of many Filipinos that the different investigating panels will “soon” indict, arrest and detain many DPWH engineers, many of the 15 most wanted contractors on PBBM’s list, several if not many members of Congress, particularly Zaldy Co and Martin Romualdez.
Only such outcomes can convince millions of Filipinos that the ongoing investigation will result in justice being served.
President Bongbong Marcos should not be misled into believing that the billions of pesos he recently redirected from DPWH to DSWD dole outs will buy him poor peoples’ goodwill or insulate him from becoming “collateral damage” from the public outrage.
If the process is hindered, misdirected or intentionally delayed, it would be safe to assume that we will see rallies and protest marches weekly. We will surely see more walkouts, prayer marches and, God forbid, a withdrawal of support for the most corrupt government in Philippine history.
Let’s continue to pray that God Almighty will expose and persecute the guilty and save our nation. God bless us all.