January 7, 2026 l Business Mirror
Lest we forget, let us persist to pursue full accountability for all the corruption and abuse inflicted on us Filipinos by our legislators and government officials together with their collaborators in the private sector.
Here is my “To Do” list for 2026, highlighting some prominent names who need to give answers.
1. Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s trial at the International Criminal Court must be pursued and a verdict on his alleged “reign of terror” must be promulgated. Effectively, he is imprisoned; but the trial will establish his culpability and give justice to the many victims.
2. Sara Duterte’s impeachment must proceed forthwith as soon as February 2026 comes, the “permissible date” when the Supreme Court has ruled that another impeachment case may be filed against her.
To recall, the House of Representatives filed on February 5, 2025, an impeachment complaint against the vice president. The move was signed by 215 congressmen, joined a day after by 25 more; an overwhelming 78-percent vote of the 308-member House versus the 66.6-percent required vote to impeach. The charges were multiple: for bribery; graft and corruption; misuse of public funds; threatening to assassinate the President and First Lady; betrayal of public trust; culpable violation of the Constitution; and, other alleged high crimes.
3. The lingering stench of the Pharmally case, so thoroughly investigated by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee headed by Senator Richard J. Gordon. He recommended the prosecution of Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp. executives and connected personalities in the Department of Budget and Management and Malacañang. The Senate majority refused to join Senator Gordon in his recommendation because it incriminated President Duterte.
During the Senate hearings, President Duterte publicly sided with Pharmally, even banning members of his Cabinet to testify at the hearings, purportedly to hinder the investigation.
Cases have been filed by Ombudsman Martires against the former DBM Undersecretary of Procurement Services Lloyd Christopher A. Lao and Pharmally executives. But the current Ombudsman Boying Remulla has withdrawn the case by leave of court, to strengthen the case against defendants. It seems that the former Ombudsman Martires is suspected to have filed deliberately a “weak case,” so it would be dismissed.
4. Michael Yang, the former Chinese presidential economic adviser to President Duterte, has still to be brought back to the country to answer charges. The House of Representatives Quad Committee has summoned him to inquire about his involvement in some alleged criminal acts (POGO, drugs, smuggling). But Michael Yang is also linked as the financier and guarantor to Chinese suppliers in behalf of Pharmally. In other words, Yang could be the enabler to the scandalous Pharmally irregularities.
5. And also, the central figure of Lao was employed in the office of Special Presidential Adviser Bong Go when Lao was appointed to head the DBM-Procurement Service during the Covid-19 pandemic when the opportunities for corrupt procurement practices opened wide. Can we connect the dots?
6. Then there is the shout of President Bong Bong Marcos (PBBM): “Mahiya naman kayo!” What a monstrous disaster of the greatest scale in DPWH flood control and infrastructure spending!
We must hold PBBM to his promise to pursue this to the end–to bring the guilty to jail, all of them, whoever.
7. And so we read and hear the names of Senators Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla, etc. in sworn statements on Senate hearings, implicated as being part of the “budget insertions gang” who act as “proponents” for flood control projects in exchange for kickbacks from private contractors in connivance with district engineers and DPWH officials. It’s an entrenched criminal syndicate.
8. And we should not omit Zaldy Co, the erstwhile chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, whose looting of the national treasury through brazen cash-loaded suitcases or maletas is now legendary! Implicated with him is former Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez to whose house at 42 McKinley Road, Forbes Park, similar cash-loaded maletas have been delivered.
This was according to whistleblower Marine officer Orly Guteza, testifying before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. Guteza says they refer to cash-loaded maletas as “basura.”
9. Oh, of course, we have the now so popular Rolls Royce Discaya couple, Curlee and Sarah; and the star story-tellers DPWH Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez and DPWH Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara who have shared the names of so many culprits.
There are so many other names and persons who need to be held accountable, which is why in our To-Do-List we must include:
10. The immediate creation of an Independent People’s Commission as imperative to investigate these horrendous irregularities in the DPWH infrastructure projects, with adequate powers and authorities to exact accountabilities.
The ball is in the hand of our Congress.
We can wait no longer.
***The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of his office as well as FINEX. For comments, email santidumlaojr@gmail.com. Photo is from Pinterest.