October 27, 2025
MANILA – Several business and labor groups on Sunday criticized the government’s slow progress in addressing the ongoing corruption scandal, urging President Marcos to conduct concrete actions “before the people’s patience finally runs out.”
“Workers and employers have long carried the burden of building and sustaining this country through our labor, our enterprise and our taxes. That’s why we can never be silent about the harsh truth that trillions have already been stolen from the public coffers,” the groups said in a joint letter.
The drafters of the letter included business groups Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., as well as labor organizations Federation of Free Workers, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa and Trade Union Congress of the Philippines.
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The groups criticized the President by noting how months have passed since he called out corrupt officials during his fourth State of the Nation Address last July, yet there were still no criminal charges or hold departure orders that were filed.
“Instead of hold departure orders, we are told to be content with immigration lookout bulletins for now. Instead of criminal charges, we are fed daily promises of cases ‘soon to be filed.’ Instead of open transparent hearings, we get closed-door investigations whose direction remains unknown,” the letter said.
“Instead of going after the most guilty, we are led on political detours, chasing the less guilty, depending on who sits where and who stands with whom,” it added. “So what now, Mr. President?”
The groups also noted how public trust in the government has diminished, with a Pulse Asia survey in September showing that 97 percent of Filipinos believe that corruption in government is widespread.
To address this, they called on President Marcos to “prove that this anticorruption drive is not another soundbite for selective justice, but the start of renewal for true justice for our people.”
Among their demands was the holding of regular dialogue with workers and employers “who know firsthand the cost of corruption on jobs, investments,” as well as with everyday Filipinos, so the government can report on the challenges in prosecuting corrupt officials and recovery of stolen public funds.
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Proposed legislation to grant the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, the body tasked with investigating anomalous infrastructure projects, full subpoena and contempt powers should also be certified as urgent, the groups added.
The President must also direct the fact-finding body to publicly disclose all submissions, position papers and supporting documents it had received, the letter said.
Moreover, the groups called for the creation of a special division under the Sandigabayan that will focus on infrastructure corruption cases in order to ensure faster investigations that will “surely lead to prosecution and convictions, regardless if the guilty is foe, friend, or family, no matter how high in power.”
“For when justice is delayed and worst, denied, the reckless will tempt the restless to take dangerous extraconstitutional shortcuts,” they said.
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Another demand of the groups was the immediate recovery of stolen public funds, in which a portion should be reallocated for “genuine social reform” programs that will support Filipinos, especially workers.
Multisectoral participation should also be institutionalized from the very start of the budget process, “so that it is not merely the President’s budget, but truly the people’s budget,” the groups added.
“A credible and vigorous anticorruption campaign within the bounds of the rule of law and the Constitution will strengthen democratic institutions and safeguard our nation from further instability and disillusionment,” the letter said.