Eight officials from the Philippines’ Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have been arrested, marking a more assertive phase in President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s response to the sprawling flood control corruption scandal.
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Analysts, however, have described the step as narrowly focused on minor players, noting that investigators have yet to confront the high-profile lawmakers and contractors accused of driving the scheme, raising doubts about how far the inquiry is prepared to reach.
The Department of Interior and Local Government on Monday said the arrested officials came from the DPWH regional office responsible for an anomalous 289-billion-peso (US$4.9 billion) flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
Those taken into custody include regional director Gerald Pacanan, along with Gene Ryan Altea, Ruben Santos, Dominic Serrano, Felisardo Casuno, Juliet Calvo, Lerma Cayco and Dennis Abagon, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
“We have to make this clear that no matter where you are in the world, we will find you. If you are at large, we will find you. If you are hiding in the Philippines, we will find you,” Remulla said.
Earlier in the day, Marcos had confirmed in a video posted on social media that seven of the 16 individuals linked to the flood control controversy who had been issued arrest warrants by the country’s anti-corruption court were now in the custody of authorities.
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While most had volunteered to surrender, Abagon was arrested in Quezon City on Sunday, at a house allegedly owned by the vice-mayor of a town in Oriental Mindoro after authorities failed to locate him at his last known address.