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Philippine authorities said Tuesday more high-profile arrests are expected in the coming weeks, after seven people were arrested a day earlier in connection with an alleged multi-million-peso corruption scheme involving “anomalies” in flood-control projects. The detainees are among 16 people named in arrest warrants issued Friday under the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Big fish are coming soon. We should expect the Visayas, senators, congressmen in the next five weeks. They will be arraigned one after the other,” Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Jonvic Remulla said.
The arrested suspects now face charges of plunder, violations of anti-graft laws, and indirect bribery. DILG said an undisclosed number of the 16 suspects remain at large, believed to be in the United States and Qatar.
President Marcos urged the remaining suspects to turn themselves in. “My advice to the remaining accused is to surrender. Don’t wait to be pursued,” he said in a video statement Monday. “This is ongoing; we will not stop,” he added.
Among those still being sought under the warrants is former House appropriations committee chairperson Zaldy Co, whom Remulla described as the “flood-control mastermind,” along with several officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the Mimaropa region.
Remulla said efforts to locate Co have been “challenging” because he holds two passports and has recently traveled to several countries, including the U.S., Spain, and Japan.
Last week, two senior officials—Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman—resigned, citing ethical reasons after their departments were linked to allegations arising from the scandal.
The arrest orders and Cabinet reshuffle followed large anti-corruption protests in September, when hundreds of demonstrators demanded accountability for “ghost” flood-control projects alleged to have cost taxpayers billions. The rallies turned violent, resulting in hundreds of arrests and one reported death.
Protests reignited this month, with tens of thousands of people gathering to demand accountability for alleged corruption in government-funded flood-control projects.
The Senate opened a probe in August into alleged “anomalies in multibillion-peso flood-control projects.” A total of 9,855 projects, valued at more than US$9.5 billion, were undertaken between July 2022 and May 2025—the first three years of Marcos’s administration. In July, Marcos publicly acknowledged racketeering in government-funded flood-control programs.
