The corruption scandal of Sandro Marcos

China News Weekly reporter: Zheng Liying

Published in the 1260th issue of "China News Weekly" magazine

In early November 2026, the ongoing flood control project corruption scandal in the Philippines made the public works budget the focus of scrutiny. The Philippine Senate announced that it plans to eliminate 295 public works projects from the 2027 national budget, involving 8.836 billion pesos (approximately RMB 940 million), on the grounds that a review by the Department of Public Works and Highways found that these projects lacked necessary documents and were unable to meet implementation requirements.

The eldest son of Philippine President Marcos, 32-year-old House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, has also been involved in this budget review. Statistics from the budget monitoring organization "People's Budget Alliance" found that in the first constituency of Ilocos Norte where Sandro is located, a total of 405 public works projects were included in the 2027 budget draft passed by the House of Representatives, involving approximately 4.37 billion pesos in new allocations, which is the largest amount among all constituencies. The Ilocos Norte Provincial Engineering Office, which is responsible for local projects, has seen the number of multi-functional building projects increase from less than four in the budget plan initially submitted by the administration to more than 200. Some projects are also missing engineering plans, certificates of feasibility and geo-tagged photos.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said that the Senate will strictly scrutinize questionable items in the budget and will not be lenient because of the political identity of members. Asked whether projects in Sandro's constituency would also be scrutinized, he responded unequivocally: "Of course."

Anthony Lawrence Borja, a scholar at De La Salle University in the Philippines, told China News Weekly that Sandro is not only the son of the president, but also the majority leader of the House of Representatives and an important figure in the political layout of the Marcos family. When the allocation of public works funds becomes the focus of anti-corruption scrutiny, this "new generation" in politics faces a major test.

"King of the Pork Barrel"

In November 2025, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism published a report stating that from 2023 to 2025, the Philippine Department of Public Works and Highways allocated nearly 1.2 trillion pesos in "distributable funds" to House of Representatives constituencies across the country. Among them, the two constituencies that received the highest quotas happened to be represented by members of President Marcos’ family. The first place in the ranking is the first district of Ilocos Norte, where the president's eldest son Sandro Marcos is located, which has received a total of 15.8 billion pesos in three years; the second is the first district of Leyte, where Sandro's uncle, then Speaker of the House of Representatives Martin Romualdez, has received a total of 14.4 billion pesos.

Even more striking is the contrast between the constituencies. The first district of Ilocos Norte represented by Sandro has a population of less than 320,000. The most populous constituency in the Philippines, the first constituency of Rizal Province, with a population of about 1.2 million, received about 7.8 billion pesos in distributable funds during the same period. The former has less than one-third the population of the latter, but receives almost twice the amount of funding.

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism thus dubbed Sandro and Romualdez the "Pork Barrel Kings" of the Philippines. In the context of Philippine politics, "pork barrel" generally refers to the mechanism through which legislators can influence the allocation of public funds and win local projects for their constituencies.

When these figures were released, a larger corruption scandal in public works was brewing. In July 2025, the Philippines was hit by monsoon rains and multiple typhoons, causing severe flooding in many places. On July 28, Marcos delivered a State of the Union address, a rare public criticism of corruption in the field of public works, saying that during his post-disaster inspections, he found that many flood control projects were of poor quality, some had collapsed, and some projects "did not exist at all."

Since then, public dissatisfaction has spread from the Internet to the streets. Anti-corruption rallies were held in Manila, Cebu and other cities. Tens of thousands of people gathered near Rizal Park and the People Power Monument, demanding a thorough investigation into the whereabouts of public funds. Responding to the demonstrations at a press conference, Marcos said he understood the people's anger. "If I were not the president, I would take to the streets with them."

Marcos asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to immediately submit a list of flood control projects in various places over the past three years, check failed projects, unfinished projects and "ghost projects" suspected of being falsely reported one by one, and make them available to the public. On September 11, 2025, Marcos signed Executive Order No. 94, establishing the Independent Infrastructure Commission, authorizing it to investigate corruption, irregularities, and misuse of funds in government flood control and related infrastructure projects over the past decade.

The corruption investigation into the flood control project soon spread to key political allies of the Marcos family. On September 17, 2025, the then Speaker of the House of Representatives Romualdez announced his resignation. More than two months later, Marcos' eldest son Sandro also took the initiative to go to the Independent Infrastructure Commission for questioning, emphasizing that he had not received a subpoena and was not the subject of the investigation. He "just wanted to provide the information he had."

Since then, the investigation against Romualdez has further escalated. On September 7, 2026, the Office of the Philippine Ombudsman formally filed a case for the crime of plundering public funds with the Sandiganbayan Branch III of the Anti-Corruption Court. On the same day, the Sandiganbayan Branch No. 3 issued an arrest warrant. Prosecutors alleged that Romualdez, former Congressman Zaldi Co and others were suspected of receiving at least 7.44 billion pesos in commissions and kickbacks through government engineering projects between 2022 and 2025. Romualdez was later arrested by police and denied wrongdoing.

The controversy surrounding the Marcos family and the public works budget does not end here. In October 2026, the "People's Budget Alliance" analyzed the 2027 budget draft passed by the House of Representatives and pointed out that there were high-risk budget increases of more than 1 trillion pesos, involving a large number of public works projects. The organization believes that some projects lack adequate scrutiny and transparency. In terms of specific constituency allocation, the first constituency of Ilocos Norte, where Sandro is located, has once again attracted attention. The Senate subsequently stated that it would strictly review relevant projects and would not make any exceptions based on the status of members.

In the face of doubts, Presidential Press Officer Claire Castro defended: "Budget increases in themselves are not inherently bad. It only becomes a problem when it is stuffed into the pockets of politicians themselves." She also said that as long as the projects that members of Congress fight for for their constituencies can be properly implemented and the allocated funds are used correctly, there are no "ghost projects" and no substandard materials are used, they should not be questioned.

"My role model is my father"

Sandro Marcos was born in 1994, the eldest son of President Marcos and First Lady Lisa Marcos. Like his father, he grew up in one of the most influential political families in the Philippines. However, the growth experiences of the two generations were completely different: his father experienced the family's fall from the peak of power, exile, and return to Philippine politics; while Sandro was growing up, the Marcos family had gradually restored local political influence and re-entered the national center of power.

After returning from studying in the UK, in September 2021, the 27-year-old Sandro announced his participation in the House of Representatives election for the first district of Ilocos Norte. When he announced his candidacy, his father Marcos was present.

During the campaign, Sandro was not shy about talking about his father's influence on him. "My role model is my father." He once said that his father was "one of the most tolerant and kind-hearted people" he knew, and he always had the interests of the people at heart. In his view, this is exactly what a public official should be.

In Sandro's political growth, there was another important guide - Romualdez. Romualdez is a cousin of Marcos; his father, Benjamin, is the brother of former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. Romualdez, who has been active in Philippine politics for a long time, was first elected to the House of Representatives for the 1st District of Leyte Province in 2007 and returned to Congress in 2019. After Marcos won the presidential election in 2022, he was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives and became an important pillar of the Marcos family in Congress.

During the 2022 campaign, Sandro publicly called Romualdez "my boss" at a political rally. Sandro said he worked in Romualdez's congressional office for two years and "everything I learned in Congress is owed to him." Romualdez also confirmed that Sandro received two years of congressional work training in his office and personally participated in the guidance.

This experience is quite critical. Sandro did not get involved in congressional politics only after being elected as a member of the House of Representatives. Before officially entering Congress, he had already passed through Romualdez's office and became familiar with the legislative process, the relationship between members, and the daily operations of the House of Representatives.

In May 2022, Sandro participated in the House of Representatives election for the first time and defeated the then Ilocos Norte First District Representative Leah Fariñas with 108,400 votes and was elected as the representative of the district. In July of the same year, at the opening of the new Congress, he was immediately elected as the senior deputy leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives. He was only 28 years old.

The appointment also raised questions at the time. University of the Philippines political science professor Jean Encinas-Franco believes Sandro lacks the political qualifications to hold the position. If his father had not been the president and his uncle had not been the speaker of the House of Representatives, it would have been difficult for him to obtain such an important position.

Three years later, Sandro was once again promoted to a congressional position. On July 28, 2025, at the opening of the 20th Congress, Sandro was elected as the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives. He not only served as the main spokesperson of the majority party in the House of Representatives, but was also responsible for coordinating the arrangement of the majority party's proceedings and legislative agenda, and also served as chairman of the Rules Committee. This committee is responsible for the House of Representatives' rules of procedure, bill agenda, and arrangement of proceedings. The official website of the Philippine House of Representatives also lists the leader of the majority party as an important position responsible for promoting legislative review and coordinating the agenda of the majority party.

According to Anthony Laurence Borja, Sandro has been included in the family's "political succession layout." Holding a senior position in the House of Representatives allowed him to enter the Philippine political elite network in advance and accumulate contacts and resources for future political development. However, Borja also pointed out that Sandro's political status is still highly dependent on his family and has not yet fully proven his personal political strength.

"They almost killed me"

As of November 6, 2026, the Office of the Philippine Ombudsman has submitted to the court 79 criminal cases related to corruption in flood control projects, involving a total project value of approximately 10.78 billion pesos. Of these, 75 cases were submitted to the Anti-Corruption Court and four to the ordinary local courts. A total of 67 people were named as defendants, including current and former members of Congress, former public works ministers, public works department staff, contractors and other private individuals. The scope of the investigation is no longer limited to low-level officials and engineering contractors, but extends to the top levels of Philippine politics.

For the Marcos government, this was both an opportunity to prove its determination to fight corruption and a political adventure. Borja believes that if the investigation does not lead to strong criminal prosecutions, the public may believe that this anti-corruption campaign is selective and intended to attack Duterte’s camp to consolidate the power of the current government.

This anti-corruption storm is also intertwined with the political struggle between the Marcos and Duterte families that has lasted for several years. From the political alliance when his father ran for president to the breakdown of relations after taking office, to the struggle between the two sides around the 2028 election, Sandro has always been at the center of this power game.

In the 2022 Philippine presidential election, Marcos and then-Davao City Mayor Sarah Duterte formed a "unity team" to run for president and vice president respectively. The two families won the election with this alliance, but relations between the two families gradually deteriorated.

In an interview in August this year, Sandro recalled an experience during the 2022 presidential campaign. At that time, his father Marcos was trying to win the support of then-President Rodrigo Duterte and took Sandro to Malacañang Palace. Sandro said the two waited at the presidential palace for about two hours, expecting to eventually meet Duterte, but instead were arranged to meet with three other people.

According to Sandro's recollection, these three people proposed that if they supported Marcos' candidacy for president, important positions such as executive secretary, speaker of the House of Representatives, speaker of the Senate, and ministers in the future government should be decided by them. Marcos rejected the request. As he left the presidential palace, his father said to him: "They almost killed me."

In February 2025, when the Philippine House of Representatives launched impeachment proceedings against Sarah, Sandro was the first member to sign the impeachment complaint. He explained: "If someone said they were going to exhume your grandfather's body and throw it into the West Philippine Sea, and they said they were going to kill the president and the first lady, who are my parents, then why would anyone be surprised that I signed the impeachment complaint?"

However, the impeachment proceedings were later ruled unconstitutional by the Philippine Supreme Court. Since then, the House of Representatives has launched a new round of impeachment proceedings. This round of impeachment has become a key game for the two major families to compete for political initiative in the 2028 presidential election. Sarah has announced her participation in the 2028 presidential election, and the final outcome of the impeachment case may affect her participation in the next presidential election.

In contrast, Sandro, who is regarded by the outside world as the successor to the Marcos family, is temporarily unable to directly participate in the 2028 presidential election. The Philippine Constitution stipulates that presidential candidates must be 40 years old or older on the day of the election. Sandro does not meet this condition. For the Marcos family, the test in the next two years will not only be how to deal with the corruption investigation into the flood control project, but also how to maintain the cohesion of the ruling coalition before the end of the presidential term and build momentum for the 2028 presidential election.

"China News Weekly" Issue 42, 2026