Filipinos flooding the streets of Metro Manila and provinces last Sunday to protest corruption and demand accountability could very well be the tipping point to vanquish a pervasive menace that has survived every past administration.

The timing of the Sept. 21 protest rallies is uncanny. That date commemorates martial law imposed by Marcos Sr., which silenced protests. Now, however, it is President Marcos Jr. who, instead of crushing protests, has encouraged them.

In defending the people’s outrage against the looting of billions from flood control projects, the President had declared: “Do you blame them for going out into the streets? Of course, they are enraged… I’m angry. We should all be angry. Because what’s happening is not right.”

Indeed, who can blame the people? The flood control scandal is exposing how politicians, contractors, and DPWH personnel siphoned off billions meant to prevent disastrous floods. What they left behind are substandard dikes, ghost projects, and neighborhoods that go underwater with every storm. People are not just soaked; they are drowning in betrayal.

The political aftershocks have been swift. The DPWH has a new head, many of its personnel are facing charges, and both the Senate and House changed leaders within days of each other. The public anger is so visceral that some people even demand the restoration of capital punishment for those involved.

To his credit, Marcos Jr. has not treated the public outrage as a threat to his rule. He created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to get to the bottom of the scandal. With subpoena powers and a promise of independence, the commission is tasked to unearth the anatomy of corruption and ferret out the culprits.

Marcos has declared that “no one, not even family members or political allies, will be spared.” Many now expect a no-nonsense probe will include his cousin, former Speaker Martin Romualdez, and Rep. Zaldy Co, both implicated in flood project anomalies.

Such a declaration is uncharted territory. Many past presidents were seen to prefer selective outrage, going after opponents while shielding allies. President Marcos Jr., at least in rhetoric, has chosen a riskier path in allowing the investigation to reach even into his own backyard.

If the President truly follows through, it could mark a genuine break from the politics of impunity. If not, the ICI will join the graveyard of probe bodies that began with promise and ended in irrelevance.

But the burden does not fall on the President alone. Congress must recognize its conflict of interest. Lawmakers accused of profiting from flood control allocations cannot credibly sit in judgment of themselves. Congressional hearings have too often been spectacles of soundbites, partisan interests, and strategic amnesia.

History is littered with examples: the PDAF scandal, Fertilizer Fund scam, the NBN–ZTE deal. All featured prolonged inquiries and damning revelations — but no real accountability for public officials. Lawmakers thundered rhetoric for TV cameras, but the guilty slipped away.

Many hope the ICI can finally break the frustrating pattern. The House deserves credit for stepping aside to allow impartial investigators to do the dirty work of digging into the anatomy of corruption.

Still, let us not be naïve. Outrage alone is not enough. Public vigilance must be kept alive. The Marcos Sr. and Estrada administrations were overthrown, yet new crooks emerged. Jose Rizal’s warning rings clear: “The slaves of today could be the tyrants of tomorrow.”

Just as people’s protest can be powerful, it can also be perilous. Political opportunists are already circling, eager to hijack the outrage and weaponize it against the present administration. If current protests get twisted into a partisan game, its power will dissipate.

The challenge is to keep the message of the protests clear: this is not about dynastic substitution — not Marcos out, Duterte in — but for justice and accountability, ensuring that the corrupt are punished regardless of affiliation.

The true message of the protests is about uprooting a system that treats public funds as private loot. If outrage does not translate into reforms — transparent budgeting, honest-to-goodness governance, stronger procurement safeguards, efficient leadership — the cycle will repeat and the people will continue to be left drowning, both literally and figuratively.

Outrage and vigilance must be sustained not only when scandals erupt but in the exercise of good citizenship: demanding good governance, honesty, competence, and refusing to vote for crooks. The bigger challenge of people power is to move from street protests to institution-building.

And strengthening the criminal justice system is imperative. The certainty of arrest, prosecution, conviction of the guilty and incarceration — under a swift and impartial judicial process — can be a powerful deterrent to corruption.

Leadership is equally important. I’ve often said that when the quality of leadership in public office is beyond reproach and exhibits excellence, it inspires cooperation and support of everyone in fighting corruption.

A cultural revolution is also essential. A national movement of enlightened Filipinos — parents instilling values of integrity, modesty, and trustworthiness in their children — could help end the mindset that foments corruption.

With the help of stakeholders — the Church, media, business groups, NGOs, civic associations, and others — it is possible to cultivate a new breed of public servants who are immune to corruption. Only then can the nation hope to end the massive corruption that has defied solutions all these years. ([email protected])