A former high government official who spoke on condition of anonymity told this Week in Asia on Monday that the Marcos presidency now hinged on 51-year-old Dizon’s ability to address the spiralling corruption unearthed by the case, with his own political survival at stake.
The source said he expected Dizon to produce results “to some extent [because] his and Marcos’ political survival depends on it”.
On Saturday, as sudden torrential rains battered the capital Manila, submerging hundreds of vehicles and trapping commuters for hours in waist-deep waters, public works chief Manuel Bonoan, 80, posted a video on social media saying there were “calls for me to resign or take a leave because of this issue”.
“That would be easy to do … but my leaving or avoiding the responsibility is not the right way to look for a solution. I accept the accountability but remember this, I won’t consent or allow any kind of corruption to happen.”
Marcos replaced him the next day, saying: “Bonoan basically took responsibility because all of these problems happened under his watch [from 2022 to 2025]. Under the principle of command responsibility, he felt he should leave his post.”
