09/08/2026
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT FERDINAND MARCOS JR.
Filipinos should not have to drown before government takes action.
Mr. President,
You have less than two years left.
And once again, Filipinos are facing the same devastating reality: the rain comes, the water rises, and ordinary families suffer.
Homes are flooded. Livelihoods disappear. Children are displaced. Medicines are ruined. Workers lose income. And the most vulnerable are left fighting simply to survive.
I recently saw a sick person with a disability being carried upstairs because floodwater had already entered their home.
Think about that.
A Filipino already struggling with illness had to be carried to safety because the government systems meant to protect communities could not keep the water out.
That should anger all of us.
We cannot stop the rain. But we can demand better flood-control systems.
We can demand properly designed and maintained drainage.
We can demand that billions allocated for flood-control projects actually protect the communities they were intended to serve.
And most importantly, we can demand accountability.
Mr. President, investigate where the money went.
Audit the projects.
Follow the contracts.
Examine the contractors and subcontractors.
Trace the money.
Find out who benefited.
And if the evidence points to government officials, businessmen, contractors, political allies, or anyone else, do not stop there because the names are powerful.
Follow the evidence all the way.
Because corruption in flood control is not just about billions on paper.
It is water inside someone’s home.
It is a mother carrying her child through floodwater.
It is a farmer losing an entire harvest.
It is a worker losing a week’s income.
It is a family watching years of savings disappear.
It is a sick Filipino being carried upstairs because there is nowhere else to go.
Filipinos are tired of being told to “stay safe” when many communities were never made safe in the first place.
And Filipino resilience should never become an excuse for government failure.
Mr. President, you still have time.
Use it to show that accountability does not stop at the powerful.
No political alliance should protect anyone.
No surname should shield anyone.
No position should make anyone untouchable.
Do not simply promise investigations.
Finish them.
Do not simply condemn corruption.
Prosecute when the evidence warrants it.
Do not simply tell Filipinos to stay safe.
Build a country where they actually can.
The rain will come again.
The floods will come again.
But whether another flood becomes another tragedy is not entirely beyond our control.
We cannot stop the rain.
But we can stop corruption from making the rain deadlier.
Mr. President, the Filipino people are not asking for favors.
We are demanding accountability.
Follow the money.
Follow the evidence.
Follow it all the way to the top.
Because Filipinos should not have to drown before those responsible finally answer.
