Additional reports of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s alleged direct involvement in corruption are earning more attention than his allies may like.
Lawmakers allied with the president may have congratulated themselves too early with their quick dismissal of the impeachment complaints against him on Tuesday at the House of Representatives (HOR).
At least three legislators claim to have seen copies of communications between Marcos Jr. and his bagmen about billions of pesos of kickbacks from fraudulent public works budgets the president allegedly ordered himself.
Disappointed at his colleagues’ haste in dismissing the impeachment complaints, a legislator-endorser belied their grievance had no substantial proof. In his manifestation, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said he and fellow endorsers of the impeachment against the president they in fact have proof in abundance.
Tinio pointed out that high-ranking public works official, former Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, has revealed it was Marcos himself who ordered the insertion of an additional P100 billion (6,311,782,520.00 UAE) Dirham in the 2024 national budget.
Of the amount, Bernardo said he personally handled more than half of the amount (P52) billion, from which he gave P8 billion (504,680,826.40 UAE Dirham) to Marcos.
Tinio said that former Presidential Legislative Liaison Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin acted as one of Marcos’ bagmen who in March 24, 2025 informed Marcos of the P8 billion delivery, to which Marcos reportedly acknowledged “Ok.”
In their communication, Bersamin allegedly added in a mix of Filipino and English: “The [P]7.122 [billion] delivery to me is complete, sir…I will finish the computation today.”
Tinio said the communication between Marcos and Bersamin went on until July of last year, mere days before Marcos berated Congress over their corruption of flood control projects.
On July 10, Bersamin again informed Marcos of another P2 billion kickback delivery at a residence in a posh Manila residential area, to which the president allegedly replied, “I will inform Jun Baris,” his onetime head of security.
Tinio said he saw copies of the communication that were originally held by a fellow legislator, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste.
House of Representatives senior deputy minority leader Edgardo Erice later confirmed to journalists he himself saw copies of the alleged communication between Marcos and his aides regarding kickbacks.
The opposition lawmakers said the information bolsters earlier testimonies by undersecretary Bernardo as well as revelations by former legislator and erstwhile Marcos ally Elizalde Co about Marcos’ receipt of billions in kickbacks.
Tinio concluded: “In short, there is strong evidence supporting the allegation that the President knew — and knew very well — about the corruption in flood control projects, directly took part in it, and received kickbacks from it,”
Their revelations have earned many news reports and opinion articles among media outfits and political pundits since Tuesday.
The two impeachment complaints were overwhelmingly dismissed on February 10, with 284 lawmakers in favor and only eight against.
Malacañang on Tuesday said Marcos Jr. was satisfied with the dismissal and welcomed the support of his allies in Congress.
The dismissal however disappointed anti-corruption groups saying the complaints were perfunctorily dismissed by an institution that itself is accused of being corrupt.
“Impeachment is the only constitutional mechanism to hold top officials to account. If complaints are dismissed outright as mere allegations, then accountability becomes a myth,” former Bayan Muna representative and complainant Neri Colmenares fumed. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
