23/09/2025
“I’m innocent.” That’s the chorus we’ve heard before. Now it’s the anthem of every politician dragged into the messy flood control scandal from Jinggoy Estrada to Joel Villanueva to Martin Romualdez.
Which is why the challenge is so simple, it’s painful: waive bank secrecy.
A waiver means giving investigators, the Ombudsman, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, permission to check if unexplained deposits line up with kickbacks from “ghost” flood projects.
And let’s not act like this is new news. Estrada was detained in 2014 over the ₱10-billion pork barrel scam, accused of funneling his PDAF into fake NGOs. He later posted bail, but his name never left the headlines. Villanueva, for his part, was ordered dismissed by then-Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales in connection with the alleged misuse of ₱10 million in pork barrel funds, a ruling he would go on to contest. Both men know exactly how it feels to face corruption probes.
Which brings us to today. If Estrada, Villanueva, Romualdez, and every other official tagged in this scandal truly have clean hands, they should have no problem opening their books. If they refuse, then every “I’m innocent” is just another dam walling off the truth from breaking through.