Amid public concern over why no one has been jailed yet in connection with anomalous flood-control projects in the country, Malacañang on Tuesday urged the public to remain calm as the filing of cases could not be done overnight.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, during a press briefing, said the government was doing everything to hold accountable those involved in the flood-control controversy.
‘Just stay calm. Again, this isn’t something that can be done instantly. Maybe it’s because I’m a lawyer myself who handles cases and personally appears in court, so I know how to properly present a piece of evidence,’ she replied in Filipino when asked to comment on public sentiments asking why no one is put in jail yet regarding this matter.
Castro, who is also a lawyer, explained that it was better to gather as much solid evidence as possible before filing cases than to immediately file cases that might eventually be dismissed due to insufficient proof.
‘This cannot be rushed. And if it were to be rushed, that might look good in terms of numbers-many cases filed in court-but later on, all of them get dismissed. Which would you find harder to accept: filing many cases that all get dismissed because they were premature and lacked sufficient evidence?’ she said in Filipino.
‘Let’s allow the ICI [Independent Commission on Infrastructure] to conduct their investigation and complete the necessary documents. They have promised that after a week, or by the fourth week, they will be able to file cases or recommend the filing of cases,’ the Palace official also said.
Earlier in the day, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez vowed to share all the information he knows with the ICI to help ‘speed up’ its investigation into alleged corruption in government infrastructure projects nationwide.
He attended the hearing after being subpoenaed by the ICI to ‘discuss his familiarity and personal knowledge as Speaker of the House relative to the National Budget insertions, as well as the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways] flood control projects.’
Romualdez is one of the lawmakers implicated in the flood control corruption scandal, following claims by a former security consultant of former Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Zaldy Co that the former House leader received kickbacks from government projects-an allegation Romualdez has since denied. /jpv