Filipinos demand accountability, independence in flood control probe - OCTA poll
Metro Manila, Philippines - Majority of Filipinos are expecting that corrupt officials and contractors involved in flood control project anomalies will be held accountable, according to a national poll by OCTA Research released Tuesday, Oct. 14.
OCTA Research found that nearly 7 out of 10 Filipinos, or around 68 percent, have this as the top outcome on the flood control investigation, followed by “recovery of lost or misused public funds” and “imprisonment of those proven guilty” at 58 percent.
Top 4 and 5 outcomes were “ensuring efficient implementation of quality flood control projects” at 41 percent and “strengthening transparency and monitoring of government infrastructure projects” at 34 percent.
“Taken together, these findings reveal a clear and uncompromising public mandate: Filipinos demand not only the exposure of wrongdoing but also decisive action, justice, and long term reform to safeguard the integrity of public institutions and infrastructure programs,” the pollster concluded in its findings.
Palace: ‘Be patient with independent probe’
Malacañang urged the public to be patient with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which President Ferdinand Marcos formed to investigate flood control project anomalies.
Vice President Sara Duterte criticized Marcos on the creation of the ICI, particularly stressing that there have been no individuals jailed since the start of the crackdown.
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed the ICI should have enough time to collect documents and pieces of evidence to file strong cases.
“Ano po ba ang mas hindi niyo tatanggapin? Nakapagsampa ng maraming kaso pero na-dimiss lahat dahil hindi hinog at kulang ang ebidensiya?" Castro said in a briefing.
[Translation: What would you reject more? Is it not a situation where cases have been filed but eventually dismissed because they were not ripe and with insufficient evidence?]
On Monday, ICI special adviser Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said the independent panel is set to file cases with the Office of the Ombudsman up to 20 cases in the next two to three weeks.
READ: Up to 20 cases to ombudsman on flood control mess soon - ICI
A nation outraged
After announcing a corruption crackdown on flood control projects in his 4th State of the Nation Address, Marcos named the 15 contractors that bagged ₱100 billion in flood control projects over the past three years, equivalent to a fifth of all projects nationwide.
OCTA Research said around 83 percent of adult Filipinos support the president’s decision to “publicly expose corruption in infrastructure projects, even if it may have political consequences for him.”
Six out of 10 Filipinos felt outrage in the corruption scandal, OCTA said, noting that the strong emotion was pronounced among Gen Z and millennials.
When asked about the best institution or group to lead the flood control investigation, around 46 percent answered the option: “An independent commission composed of honest individuals from the private sector such as the ICI.”
The Senate and the House of Representatives, whose several members have been implicated in shady projects, only got 23 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
“The strong support for an external, integrity-based commission underscores the public’s skepticism toward political institutions and highlights the need for new, transparent mechanisms of accountability that can restore public confidence in the government’s anti-corruption efforts,” OCTA Research said.
OCTA Research conducted face-to-face interviews in 1,200 adult Filipinos from Sept. 25 to 30 — over a week after Marcos named former Supreme Court Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr. to head the ICI.
But the survey period was amid continuing calls to livestream ICI proceedings for transparency.
OCTA said its poll has a ±3 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level.
