Cayetano Delivers Counter-SONA: Marcos Should Be President of the Opposition Too as Flood Control Probe Intensifies

The Senate chamber in Manila has become the latest battleground in a widening storm of political accusations and public frustration, as flooding continues to devastate communities while billions in infrastructure funds remain unaccounted for. With the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte already underway and fresh evidence of ghost projects surfacing, Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano used his platform to demand that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rise above coalition loyalties. This moment captures the raw tension between accountability and partisan survival that now grips Philippine governance.

Cayetano Delivers Counter-SONA: Marcos Should Be 'President of the Opposition Too' as Flood Control Probe Intensifies

Manila, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano stood before his colleagues in the session hall and delivered a pointed Kontra-SONA that challenged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to lead all Filipinos, not merely the ruling coalition. Speaking during an ANC 24/7 broadcast on Tuesday, Cayetano framed the address as a direct response to the administration’s record on debt, education, and the flood control scandal that erupted after the President’s 2025 State of the Nation Address. His remarks landed amid intensifying scrutiny of PHP 14.4 billion in Taguig projects now under Ombudsman review.

The Kontra-SONA Message

Cayetano laid out six concrete policy demands during his July 28, 2026 address. He called for scrapping the K-12 program, which he argued has left thousands of Filipino families burdened by extra years of schooling without corresponding job gains. He also pressed for continued Senate probes into the flood control scandal and urgent action on the national debt that has surpassed PHP 15 trillion according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas records.

The minority leader demanded higher minimum wages for workers in Metro Manila and Cebu, where daily living costs have outpaced legislated pay for years. He further urged strict regulation of vape products sold in sari-sari stores across Quezon City and Davao, citing rising youth addiction rates documented in recent Department of Health reports. Cayetano closed by urging both administration and opposition senators to set aside partisan fights and unite behind one national vision.

Cayetano told the chamber that Marcos Jr. must serve as president of the opposition as well as the ruling coalition. He stated the line explicitly: the President is not only the President of the administration, he is also President of the opposition. This framing resonated with families watching from provinces where basic services have stalled under divided leadership.

Critics of K-12 have long pointed to overcrowded classrooms and graduates who still struggle to find work, a reality felt sharply in provinces sending workers abroad. On wage debates, Cayetano highlighted how jeepney drivers and market vendors in Cebu and Manila pay rising VAT and local fees yet see little return in infrastructure. Vape regulation, he noted, must reach the smallest sari-sari stores where flavored products target teenagers, a concern echoed by parents in Davao and Quezon City alike.

Detained Senators and the Impeachment Trial

The Senate formally opened the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on July 7 without three senators present. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta remain in detention on separate plunder charges filed at the Sandiganbayan, while Senator Ronald dela Rosa has stayed out of public view after an ICC arrest warrant issued over his role in the drug war. Cayetano labeled Estrada and Marcoleta political prisoners, arguing that if the cases were not weaponized, both men would already be out on bail and able to attend trial sessions.

Estrada filed a motion before the Sandiganbayan requesting permission to attend the Duterte impeachment proceedings, but the court denied the request. Marcoleta sent a formal letter asking that his vote be counted even while detained. Cayetano pressed the Senate to allow both men to participate, saying their absence undermines the trial’s legitimacy for families in their home provinces of San Juan and South Cotabato.

The ICC warrant against dela Rosa adds another layer of complexity, as his absence removes a key Duterte ally from the chamber at a critical time. Political observers note that the warrant has already shifted Senate dynamics, with some members wary of appearing too close to the former senator. This situation leaves the impeachment trial vulnerable to claims of incomplete representation, particularly among voters in Mindanao who view dela Rosa as a defender of regional interests.

Lacson Drops the Hammer: Evidence at the Ombudsman

On the same day as the Kontra-SONA, Senator Ping Lacson turned over his team’s findings on alleged ghost projects in Taguig City directly to the Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City. The documents cover PHP 14.4 billion in infrastructure projects awarded between 2020 and 2025 through the Department of Public Works and Highways. Lacson posted on X that investigators are examining possible plunder, malversation, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

He described Taguig as employing old and new tricks, including passing off an illegal reclamation project as slope protection structures and using recycled photos from already completed contracts. The original controversy began with ghost flood control projects in Bulacan after Marcos Jr.’s 2025 SONA, where similar patterns of double billing and nonexistent drainage systems emerged. Lacson stated the Taguig anomalies appear controlled by one person dating back to 2019, prompting the Ombudsman to open a formal case review.

The Ombudsman’s investigation timeline typically begins with a preliminary review lasting 30 to 60 days, after which the office may request counter-affidavits from respondents before deciding on formal charges. In this case, Speaker Martin Romualdez has already been ordered to submit counter-affidavits regarding his oversight of DPWH allocations tied to the projects. The process emphasizes impartiality, as the Ombudsman has publicly stated that all evidence will be weighed without regard to political affiliation.

Taguig Ghost Projects: A Deeper Look

Taguig City accumulated the PHP 14.4 billion in projects during the period when Lani Cayetano, wife of Alan Cayetano, has served as mayor. The city is widely viewed as the Cayetano family’s political stronghold in Metro Manila. Lacson’s report lists multiple ghost items where full payment was released but no structures exist on the ground, with double appropriations appearing in several barangays near the Pasig River.

Photos submitted for completed work actually belong to projects finished years earlier in other cities. These findings directly affect residents in Taguig’s flood-prone barangays near the Pasig River, where promised drainage systems and slope protection never materialized despite the billions disbursed. The comparison to Bulacan is stark: both areas saw DPWH funds allocated for flood control that vanished into paperwork, leaving families exposed during the 2025 typhoon season.

A Political Word War Erupts

Alan Cayetano responded via Facebook Live hours after Lacson’s submission. He welcomed accountability but called the accusations general and sweeping. Cayetano said any response must come at the proper venue and proper time, while expressing shock that Lacson compared Taguig to the Bulacan flood control scandal.

Cayetano insisted Taguig has enjoyed good governance since 2010 and that the new claims would not distract him from his focus on the Vice President Sara Duterte impeachment trial. The exchange highlights deepening rifts inside the Senate, with Lacson pushing the Ombudsman probe while Cayetano defends his family’s record in Taguig and keeps pressure on the Duterte proceedings. These tensions reflect broader Senate dynamics where personal loyalties and family legacies often collide with calls for transparency.

What This Means for Filipino Taxpayers

Filipino taxpayers in Bulacan and Taguig now face the direct cost of projects that exist only on paper. Families who lost homes to flooding in 2025 still wait for drainage systems paid for years ago but never built, forcing them to rely on sandbags and community pumps during heavy rains. OFWs sending remittances to relatives in these areas see their hard-earned money taxed to fund budgets that disappear into ghost contracts.

Jeepney drivers and sari-sari store owners in affected barangays pay VAT and local fees that fund the same missing infrastructure, stretching already tight household budgets. The scandal erodes trust in both the Department of Budget and Management and local governments, making it harder for communities to secure future funding for real flood defenses ahead of the next typhoon season. When public funds vanish, the burden falls heaviest on ordinary citizens who cannot relocate or hire private engineers.

What to Watch For

The Ombudsman is expected to decide within weeks whether to file formal charges based on Lacson’s Taguig documents. The Senate will continue the Duterte impeachment trial, with renewed calls to allow Estrada and Marcoleta to attend sessions. Cayetano has scheduled follow-up hearings on the broader flood control scandal, while Lacson has promised additional submissions covering other cities.

Marcos Jr. faces growing pressure to address both the debt and the corruption probes in his next public statements. Residents in Taguig and Bulacan will monitor whether any recovered funds reach actual flood control projects before the 2026 rainy season intensifies, a test of whether political accountability can still deliver concrete protection for vulnerable communities.