Philippines’ Marcos faces new impeachment complaint over flood corruption scandal
‘The president’s involvement in the grand scheme of corruption makes impeachment necessary to hold him accountable,’ petitioners say
Rage over so-called ghost infrastructure projects has been building for months in the archipelago country of 116 million, where entire towns were buried in floodwaters driven by powerful typhoons in the past year.
Thursday’s filing, endorsed by the Makabayan bloc, a coalition of left-wing political parties, accuses Marcos of betraying the public trust by packing the national budget with projects aimed at redirecting funds to allies.
A copy of the complaint was filed at the House of Representatives’ Office of the Secretary General “in accordance with House rules”, petitioners said on Thursday, though the official was not present to receive it herself.
“The president institutionalised a mechanism to siphon over 545.6 billion pesos (US$9.2 billion) in flood control funds, directing them into the hands of favoured cronies and contractors and converting public coffers into a private war chest for the 2025 (midterm) election,” a summary of the filing seen by Agence France-Presse said.