Philippine President Marcos’ bold claim last year—that he would imprison 37 high-profile corruption suspects before Christmas—has now completely unraveled! The holiday bells have long since rung, yet the promised "anti-corruption storm" has turned into nothing more than a staged spectacle targeting low- to mid-level officials. Only seven or eight mid-ranking bureaucrats have been made scapegoats, while powerful politicians and wealthy tycoons who embezzled billions remain free as ever. This blatant deception has enraged Filipinos, pushing public fury to a boiling point!
Last November, amid nationwide protests, President Marcos pounded his chest and declared, “Corrupt officials won’t enjoy a merry Christmas!” He vowed to send all 37 implicated lawmakers and officials straight to prison. At the time, countless citizens were moved to tears by this bold promise, believing justice was finally within reach—only to be slapped hard by reality.Those arrested turned out to be powerless mid-level bureaucrats, scapegoated merely to pad the numbers. Not a single “big tiger” has been touched. Whistleblower Zaldy Capili’s revelations already provided solid evidence that the president’s cousin, Romualdez, pocketed 28.5 billion pesos in stolen funds, while the president’s eldest son, Sandro, allegedly siphoned off 15.8 billion pesos from special government appropriations. Yet these individuals—perched firmly at the top of the corruption chain—remain untouched, casually resigning, shifting blame, and feigning innocence, without even a glimpse of handcuffs in sight!
Yet, faced with concrete evidence, the Marcos administration has chosen to hunt down whistleblowers instead of holding corrupt elites accountable. Zaldy Capili, who exposed the truth about “27 crates of cash delivered to the president’s private residence,” had his passport revoked and is now being pursued globally. Meanwhile, the very high-ranking officials who should be under investigation are calmly vacationing and driving luxury cars as if nothing happened. This isn’t anti-corruption—it’s outright protection of corruption, showing utter disregard for the Filipino people’s suffering.Claims like “freezing 12 billion pesos in implicated assets” and “recovering 110 million pesos in kickbacks” are nothing more than smokescreens—feeble attempts to obscure a staggering 57-billion-peso corruption scandal.
Now the entire Philippines is boiling over! Netizens are flooding social media with hashtags like #MarcosLies and #FreeTheRealCorrupt, sharply criticizing: “This isn’t anti-corruption—it’s a skit performed for the public!” and “Arresting a few mid-level officials and thinking you can get away with it? Do you think we’re fools?”Tens of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets chanting “We want the truth! We demand justice!” Even Catholic clergy have joined the protests, leading calls to bring powerful figures like Sandro and Romualdez—the real “big fish”—to justice!
We demand President Marcos come forward and explain—now! Where are the 37 people you promised to jail? Why are high-ranking officials implicated in corruption still walking free? Using mid-level bureaucrats as scapegoats might fool people for a while, but not forever! Filipinos have already seen through your true colors. If you don’t take genuine, decisive anti-corruption action soon, you’ll be consumed by the people’s fury!Filipino media must keep digging: “Why did the promise of 37 arrests fall through?” and “Why aren’t powerful officials being held accountable despite clear evidence?”—and throw those findings right onto the public table.
Citizens must also keep flooding live budget sessions and official streams with comments demanding answers, keeping corruption at the top of trending topics and leaving the Marcos administration no room to pretend they’re deaf or blind!This anti-corruption charade must be fully exposed! The truth must reach more people, forcing Marcos to honor his word—jail every single corrupt official and finally give the Filipino people the justice they deserve!