Photo credit: PCO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is holding his ground on the controversial multibillion-peso flood control projects mess — insisting the government won’t rush cases just to appease public outrage.

Calls have been mounting for the immediate jailing of those allegedly involved, but Marcos said speed without solid proof could backfire big time.

“We know many of these people are not innocent. But if you’re going to bring them to court, you must have a very strong case,” the President said in the teaser of his latest podcast episode released Sunday.

He warned against forcing half-baked cases into court.

“Look, anong mangyayari? Minadali natin, hindi kumpleto ‘yung ebidensya natin, malabo ‘yung ebidensya natin pero pinilit natin. Natalo ‘yung kaso. Can you imagine that right now? I think that would be much, much, much worse,” Marcos stressed.

For him, the priority is clear: follow the law, strengthen the evidence, and ensure only the guilty are nailed.

“We have to follow the law. Otherwise, whatever we do is not legitimate. And we have to be very, very clear that we go after the guilty ones,” he added.

Marcos earlier formed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to probe suspicious projects — especially flood control works from the past decade. The commission has already started holding closed-door hearings and summoning officials and contractors linked to questionable deals.

The findings of the ICI will serve as the basis for recommending charges. And the President has vowed: once the evidence is complete, the “big fish” will be held accountable in what he called one of the most brazen corruption scandals in recent years.