Philippines flood scam: President Marcos Jr drops bombshell, House drama starts boiling over as Senators clash

Manila: A political storm like no other is breaking wide open — amid a parallel probe into multi-billion-dollar flood control scam that's starting to unravel.

In the Senate, cracks have opened and tensions run high. In the House of Representatives, a dam of deceit is burst open unleashing details of insatiable greed that continues to drown the Asian nation.

The probe has pried open a Pandora’s box that few in the past dared touch.

At the centre of the turmoil: Speaker Martin Romualdez, and two Senators — Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva.

They have all vehemently denied wrongdoing. Romualdez, cousin of the President, faces internal dissent after being tagged in the systematic looting of public funds — with ghost projects allegedly run by contractors, engineers, and even fellow lawmakers.

Will Romualdez find cover under the palace roof — or will Malacañang throw him and others to the meat grinder?

The saga of pilferage has only incensed the public.

Now, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has dropped a political bombshell: a brand-new independent commission will dig into corruption in government flood control projects.

All this, while both the Philippine Senate and Congress run a parallel — and heated — probe, as floodwaters keep battering communities.

The Senate floor, meanwhile, is sizzling.

The mudslinging between the Senate and Congress is starting to hit epic proportions.

During Wednesday’s plenary session, Senator Bato dela Rosa thundered that ex-DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez — a key figure in the scandal — should be in Senate custody, not tucked away at a police detention centre.

“Sila ay takot sa kanilang ginagawa mismo (They're the ones who are fearful of what they're doing),” Bato declared, referring to the House of Representatives. “Hindi po ‘yan gawain ng Senado, na mag-impluwensiya ng resource person (They are afraid of what they’ve done. This is not the Senate’s job, to influence the resource person.”

Estrada, whose brother is also one of the 24 senators (JV Ejertico), distanced himself from ex-district engineer Hernandez, calling the latter a "liar and plunderer". Estrada also vowed to continue the probe into the flood control scam.

Estrada vowed never to let the masterminds and engineers of the massive defrauding of the Filipino people to silence me. Hindi pa ako tapos, at lalong di ko kayo uurungan. (I'm not done yet, and I will back off)."

Meanwhile, social media posts are giving ordinary Filipinos a crash course on the flow of taxpayer's money through Congress and the Senate.

One Congressman, Toby Tiangco of Navotas who reportedly has an eye for the Speakership, has homed in on another Congressman, Ako Bicol Party List's Elizaldy Co, head of the so-called "Small Committee" of the House Appropriations Committee, whom he said has a lot of explaining to do.

Tiangco made an even bolder claim, i.e. that House Speaker Romualdez stands at the centre of pork barrel insertions.

These are unprecedented: a parallel probe conducted by both houses on corruption and "tongpats" practices and the announcement of an independent investigation body to look into the very same issue.

What's the possible outcome? It's charges and countercharges in the court of public opinion, without solving the root of the problem.

The public, at the receiving end of disasters from non-existent projects marked "completed" and fully paid, is crying for action.

Aming the growing outcry to hold politicians, contractors and engineers accountable, it’s Rep vs. Rep showdown time at the House.

Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. of Ako Bicol didn’t hold back telling Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco to focus on his own backyard before poking his nose into other districts’ affairs.

Garbin fired off accusations that Tiangco's turf — the Navotas flood control projects — got a whopping ₱529 million worth of “insertions” allegedly funnelled to none other than the infamous St. Timothy Construction Corp.

And guess who’s behind that?

The scandal-tainted Discaya clan, whose name is now synonymous with questionable deals. Other suspect companies under government scrutiny also got a piece of that pie.

But Tiangco wasn’t having any of it. He shot back declaring that Navotas, sitting below sea level, deserves all the floodgate funds it can get — and then some. Can’t argue with geography, right?

Meanwhile, the Discaya-owned firms including St. Timothy are caught in hot water, shaking off tax claims and eyebrow-raising business practices.

Meanwhile, Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga's resignation from the National Unity Party (NUP) and the majority bloc marks a pivotal move, as he also accuses Romualdez of needing investigation first.

This shift reflects internal tensions and scrutiny of DPWH projects, exacerbated by the detention of ex-engineer Brice Hernandez, who implicated Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva in receiving tens of millions of pesos in questionable projects.

Hernandez's revelations, denied by both senators, have intensified the drama.

The young Barzaga's move (whose father Elpidio also served as mayor and congressman of Cavite), adds to the volatility, as the 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) controversies could further destabilise the House.

The Senate's clash over Hernandez's custody, with minority senators demanding his return, underscores the broader struggle for legislative authority.

The political landscape is tense. Local media are having a field day capturing the unfolding saga, as Filipinos watch a high-stakes battle for which they eventually must pay for.

Over at the Senate floor on Wednesday, members were at loggerheads.

Lawmakers clashed over where to keep Brice Hernandez, the former DPWH assistant district engineer (ADE) accused of "lying" in the ghost flood control probe after he implicated two senators, a senior DPWH official and his boss, the District Engineer.

Minority senators grilled Senate President Tito Sotto over Hernandez. Why, they asked, did he move Hernandez to the PNP Custodial Center?

Sotto said House Speaker Romualdez had relayed Hernandez’s request. “He fears for his safety after implicating senators,” Sotto explained.

The initial compromise: Hernandez will stay at Camp Crame, but under Senate security. Sotto insisted, “The Senate still has custody.”

The minority didn't buy it. They said the transfer weakened their authority.

It's not immediately clear why, by late Wednesday, Hernandez, an assistant district engineer in Bulacan earlier cited for "contempt" after he implicated two Senators, was moved to a Pasay City Jail.

Fernandez, now jailed for contempt, is a key mid-level official and a self-confessed "bagman" of kickbacks by the senators and officials he mentioned, and whose bombshell testimony in the House has kept the public glued to the livestreamed probe.

As the plot thickens, the House InfraComm had already ruled the the Discaya couple, the so-called "King and Queen of Flood Control" are unfit to become state witnesses. Their affidavit, senators said, was practically a confession to plunder.

Late on Wednesday, Senate President Sotto refused to sign Senator Marcoleta’s request to place contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya under the DOJ’s Witness Protection Programme, the Inquirer reported.

But here’s the twist — Marcoleta was just ousted from that committee after a Senate reshuffle.

The 24-member Senate suspended plenary when Marcoleta pressed why Hernandez was moved at all.

In another twist to the on-going saga, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong went further, implicating Congressman Zaldy Co as part of a “highly organised syndicate.”

Co chairs the House Appropriations Committee, and head of the so-called "Small Committee".

“He wouldn’t have acted alone,” Magalong claimed.

But when asked if he meant House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president's cousin, Magalong stayed silent.

Over at Malacañang, President Marcos said an independent body empowered to investigate alleged improprieties could help clear the kickbacks issue that's eroding public trust.

“We have made very sure that they are in fact independent, truly independent. It’s a technical exercise,” Marcos said.

The body will get teeth — subpoena powers included. Its mission: identify ghost projects, expose substandard ones, and pin down who pocketed the people’s money.

Looks like this political spat is just scratching the surface of a massive iceberg.

As controversies swirl like a stormy sea, every House and Senate brawl becomes prime-time entertainment for Filipinos who just can’t get enough of the drama.

But beneath the surface lurk the big questions everyone wants answered: How on earth do we get that stolen money back?

Should the infamous Discaya couple be granted protection as state witnesses for their role in the flood control saga?

And finally, will the key players in this tangled web of corruption actually face justice or jail time?

Filipinos are watching closely and demanding crystal-clear answers —because this isn’t just political theatre, it’s about the country’s future and the rule of law.

Stay tuned, the next act is yet to begin.