In the old gangster films, the “untouchables” were the men who operated above the law. In the Philippines today, the untouchables sit in the very heart of government. Flood-control billions have gone missing, contractors and lawmakers have been exposed, hearings have been held, yet the central figures remain free.
No arrests. No charges. No accountability.
When Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong resigned from the Integrity and Corruption Investigation body, it sent a loud message: even the most credible reformers cannot fight a rigged system from within. Magalong had a reputation for integrity. His departure speaks of interference and futility.
When Senator Panfilo Lacson stepped down as chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, the symbolism was just as devastating. The chamber’s main investigative arm lost its most credible face. If even Lacson, a veteran anti-graft crusader, believes the process is compromised, what is left of the Senate’s moral authority?
Oversight has collapsed. Institutions that were supposed to police corruption are instead retreating from the battlefield.
And while this collapse plays out, the names most associated with congressional racketeering remain free. Zaldy Co, branded the kingpin of budget “insertions”, is at large. Former Speaker Martin Romualdez, cousin of the President and once the second most powerful man in the country, faces no charges.
This is the worst possible combination: the small fry exposed, the investigators resigning, and the alleged masterminds untouchable.
BBM’s Credibility Crisis
For Ferdinand Marcos Jr., this is not just a political problem. It is an existential one. He called corruption “horrible” and promised commissions and audits. But with Magalong and Lacson gone, with Co and Romualdez still safe, his words now sound hollow.
Two narratives are fast congealing:
- That BBM is protecting his cousin and inner circle.
- That he is too weak to act, a bystander in his own presidency.
Either way, the damage is fatal to his credibility. Every day that passes without accountability tightens the grip of cynicism.
The Duterte bloc senses blood. Sara Duterte and her allies can posture as the cleaner alternative. Alan Peter Cayetano’s snap-election gambit is one signal flare. Reformist voices, from Chel Diokno to Leila de Lima to even Magalong himself, should he enter national politics, can claim the moral high ground.
Meanwhile, Marcos’s own legislative machinery fragments. Romualdez is a liability who has not been sacrificed, leaving the House divided and the President weakened.
For the public, the equation is simple: billions stolen, no one jailed. Protests may not yet have reached the fever pitch of people power, but anger is ripening. The September 21 rallies were symbolic; the next wave could and should be sustained. And every flood that drowns a barangay will be seen not just as an act of nature, but as proof of corruption’s cost.
This is not oversight. It is theater. Not accountability, but ritual. And the ritual ends with the same punchline: the powerful walk free, the powerless drown.
Final Word
Magalong gone. Lacson gone. Zaldy Co at large. Romualdez uncharged. Congress disgraced. The Senate stained.
This is what “untouchable” means in Philippine politics: not courage, but impunity. Not service, but survival.
For BBM, the implications are brutal. He wanted to cleanse his family name. But unless he breaks the spell of impunity, even at the cost of his own allies, his presidency will not be remembered for redemption. It will be remembered for surrender.
And history will judge him not as the Marcos who restored trust, but as the Marcos who let corruption drown the state.
