No ‘big fish:’ A strategy of delay and fatigueLast December, Filipinos were promised accountability. President Marcos Junior and the ombudsman gave assurances that the “big fish” behind the multibillion-peso flood control scandal would be arrested by Dec. 15. Yet nothing translated to the arrests of “big fish,” let alone systemic reforms. No matter how PBBM’s administration manipulates the truth, one fact remains: allowing the real “big fish” to evade accountability carries consequences far beyond this scandal. What we are witnessing is not an urgent pace of justice by President Marcos, but a pattern of deliberate delays.

Source: Philippine Star January 20, 2026 16:35 UTC