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De Lima pinpoints many loopholes in Marcos EO on flood control project mess
Philippines
National
De Lima pinpoints many loopholes in Marcos EO on flood control project mess
De Lima pinpoints many loopholes in Marcos EO on flood control project mess
Published Sep 11, 2025 08:54 pm
At A Glance
- Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has found various loopholes in the executive order (EO) that President Marcos issued to probe corruption-ridden government flood control projects, including its vague coverage and weak executory power.
Members of the environmental group Kalikasan storm the St. Gerrard Construction office owned by the Discaya family in Pasig City on Thursday, September 4, 2025. The protesters hurled mud at the property, symbolizing the burden carried by flood victims due to failed flood-control projects. They also spray-painted the words “Magnanakaw” and “Korap” on the office walls and gate to express anger over alleged corruption in flood-control contracts awarded to the Discaya family’s companies. (Photos by Santi San Juan)
Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has found various loopholes in the executive order (EO) that President Marcos issued to probe corruption-ridden government flood control projects, including its vague coverage and weak executory power.
De Lima, a lawyer, issued her opinion on Marcos’ EO No. 94, which established an independent body to investigate alleged corruption, irregularities, and misuse of funds in government flood mitigation and related projects within the last 10 years.
De Lima immediately had an issue with the title.
“Parang kulang, kasi ang nakalagay po, Executive Order No. 94 creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure. So wala man lang yung specific na creating an independent commission para imbestigahan yung corruption (It seems incomplete because it says, "Executive Order No. 94 creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure." It doesn't specifically say that it's creating an independent commission to investigate corruption),” she said in a video statement.
“Yung misuse of public funds. So para bang walang… for infrastructure. So para bang nawawala yung esensya na expected ng mga tao na imbestigahan talaga ang mga anomalya na ‘yan (Even the misuse of public funds. So it’s like, there's nothing referring to... for infrastructure. So it’s somewhat missing the essence that people expected, which is to really investigate these anomalies),” she added.
De Lima also flagged the term “ad hoc fact-finding", which made her question what was the commission was all about.
"Is it really a fact-finding body or an investigative one?" she asked.
The new commission, De Lima observed, will be restricted to recommending the filing of civil, administrative, and criminal cases before an appropriate office.
De Lima, who was among House lawmakers who authored a bill that sought to create a body that will probe into the misuse of funds in flood control projects, found Marcos’ new commission to be lacking teeth.
While she said the new EO has powers to issue subpoena, it lacks power to cite those respondents in contempt, in case they snub the orders.
“Useless po ang subpoena powers kung wala pong (Subpoena powers are useless if it doesn't come with) contempt powers,” De Lima said, comparing the EO to their filed bill.
She said the EO also misses some important laws, including the law on plunder, the procurement law and the Omnibus Election Code. She further described the order’s coverage as “general.”
Recently, various congressmen and senators have been implicated in the flood control project anomalies, and De Lima believes the EO only covers agencies and officials in the executive branch.
“Yung kanilang powers, hindi nag-eextend (Its power doesn’t extend) beyond the executive branch. Understandably, it’s an EO,” she said.
“Wala syang sakop sa legislature and judiciary. So kulang yung reach ng kanyang mandato (It doesn’t cover the legislature and the judiciary. So its mandate is not enough),” she added, noting that even the constitutional bodies are not covered.
Another thing De Lima also noted was that Marcos’ EO did not indicate how those responsible criminally would be held accountable.
She said the Palace directive must be able to initiate the filing of administrative cases against those accused as well as directly file charges before a prosecutorial body of the government, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Bagamat naapreciate natin na may ganyang EO, pero kailangan pa po yung meron talagang batas na magcecreate ng mas makapangyarihan, mas malawak na mandato na independent commission (While we appreciate such an EO, we still need a law that will create a more powerful, and more extensive independent commission),” she said.