The Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (TAMA NA or People Against Thieves and Abusers Network Alliance) finds as severely inadequate the Marcos regime’s Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI)’s initial list of individuals recommended for indictment before the Office of the Ombudsman for corruption in flood control projects. The ICI recommended on October 29 the filing of cases against incumbent and former senators, Congress members, and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and the Commission on Audit (CoA).

Those named by the ICI to face charges include Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Senator Joel Villanueva, resigned Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, COA Commissioner Mario Lipana, and former Caloocan Representative Mitch Cajayon-Uy. “This is not enough, that number is far too small,” TAMA NA head Dr. David San Juan said.

San Juan mockingly gave the ICI a “token applause,” saying that at least someone is finally being charged since the Marcos regime established the commission. “Someone finally faces charges, because we protested. Had we not flooded the streets on September 21, there would be no ICI and no charges today,” he added.

TAMA NA was among the organizers and leaders of the 100,000-strong mobilization at Luneta Park on September 21 known as Flood in Luneta.

San Juan said monitoring the progress in the ICI and the Ombudsman is now crucial because those charged might merely be the commission’s sacrificial lambs. He said this could be the commission’s attempt to pour cold water and diffuse the public’s outrage.

“Let us (ICI) file charges to pretend something is happening… But who are they charging? A few senators, a few congressmen, an undersecretary,” San Juan said. He said this could also be a tactic to silence the testifying DPWH Undersecretary Bernardo to prevent him from ratting on others involved, especially the masterminds, and to shield the ‘kings and queens of corruption.’

San Juan further retorted that even Marcos’s own officials had admitted the scope and depth of the problem, yet only a few individuals are currently being charged. “Our call: A people’s anti-corruption protest! Do not be deceived by an investigation that still has no real progress,” he declared.

The United People Against Corruption (UPAC) expressed a similar sentiment. The group stated that it will monitor together with the public.

“The people’s demand for transparency and accountability remains strong,” UPAC spokesperson Bishop Kiko Herrera said. He stated that with ICI’s actions, UPAC’s separately organized People’s Tribunal will proceed to truly amplify the voices of submerged and affected communities.

UPAC and TAMA NA are both part of the Kilusang Bayan Kontra Kurakot (KBKK or People’s Movement Against Corruption), a network formed after the massive demonstration at Luneta Park on September 21. The network unites numerous groups and sectors to continue the anti-corruption struggle, and for truth, and accountability. KBKK is set to hold a nationwide Protestang Bayan Kontra Kurakot (People’s Protest Against Corruption) on November 30.