‘They don’t deserve it’: Marcos emotional over Filipinos’ hardships, vows flood control probe

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was seen being emotional as he talked about the hardships of Filipinos in the trailer of his podcast released on September 6.

In the middle of the interview, GMA Integrated News’ Vicky Morales asked Marcos if he is getting “teary-eyed.”

“Yes, [I’m teary-eyed] because I’m very upset. I see people having a hard time, and they don’t deserve it,” Marcos said.

Marcos said that it was unjust for Filipinos to be punished when they did not do anything wrong but work and love their families.

“Mabuti pa kung masamang tao ‘yan, dapat parusahan. Hindi naman eh, walang ginawa ‘yan kung hindi magtrabaho, kung hindi mahalin ang pamilya,” Marcos said.

“Ba’t mo paparusahan? Para magpayaman ka? That makes no sense to me,” he added.

The video did not disclose the specific topic that Marcos was referring to as he lamented the hardships of Filipinos.

Meanwhile, Marcos said in his exclusive one-on-one interview with Morales that the members of the anti-corruption independent commission will be announced next week.

The commission is tasked to investigate the anomalous flood control projects that have recently gained public attention.

“They’re completely separate from government… We will give them all the powers that are necessary for them to come to a conclusion, to come to some findings para alam natin kung ano ang nangyari,” Marcos said.

Marcos also cited that the government has received more than 12,000 reports on the flood control projects and other alleged irregularities in the Sumbong sa Pangulo website.

“Hindi lang (flood control projects). May mga paving, road widening, marami,” Marcos said.

“Nagkaroon ang tao ng line of communication sa akin na para makapag-reklamo sila, ginagamit talaga nila,” he added.

Earlier this week, Marcos instructed to fully review the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and make the necessary corrections for the National Expenditure Program (NEP) 2026.

He directed the DPWH and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to conduct its sweeping review.

The probe on anomalous flood control projects started after Marcos recently revealed that about 20 percent of the entire P545 billion budget went to only 15 contractors.