Malakanyang, tikom ang bibig sa ulat na nag-uugnay kay PBBM sa korapsyon, legacy rehab drive

PINABULAANAN ng Malakanyang ang “speculation and intrigue” na report na nag-uugnay kay Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa corruption scandal, at sa London-based public relations firm di umano’y kinalampag para “i-rehabilitate” ang kanyang imahe sa loob ng international community.

Sa isang Viber message sa mga mamamahayag, dedma lang si Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary at Palace Press Officer Claire Castro na Palace Press Officer Claire Castro sa nasabing write-up.

“We have no comment on articles based on speculation and intrigue. The Palace deals in facts and is focused on the problems facing Filipinos today, not speculation about events years ago,” ang mensahe ni Castro.

Tinukoy ni Castro ang May 19 investigative report ng Whale Hunting, na nagsasabing ang London-based PR firm na tinatawag na Project Associates di umano’y nag-alok kay Pangulong Marcos ng $144,000-per-month (humigit-kumulangP8.9 million) contract noong 2022.

Ang kumpanya ay dapat na binayaran para i-rehabilitate ang international image ni Pangulong Marcos, inorganisang pagpupulong sa pagitan niya at ng Western elites, at pinangasiwaan ang mga tanong ukol sa diktadura niyang ama.

Sinasabi rin na ang 2022 election victory ni Pangulong Marcos ay umasa nang husto sa ‘historical revisionism’ at isang “sophisticated” online disinformation campaign na inilalarawan ang Marcos dictatorship bilang “golden age.”

Iniuugnay din si Pangulong Marcos sa Malaysian businessman Jaya Sudhir, na sinasabing di umano’y sangkot sa international bribery at corruption scandals.

“Six months after Marcos won the election, the hidden reality of that ‘reform’ was on display at the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix,” ang mababasa sa kuwento.

“Fast forward to mid-2025, when the flood control scandal broke, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez was implicated as one of the masterminds, leading to reports of frozen assets and investigations by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan,” ayon sa ulat.

“Then, in late April 2026, Romualdez posted a video from what appeared to be a private residence. The lighting was soft. He wore a white polo, no jacket—the look of a man under pressure who wanted to seem relaxed. He spoke slowly. Almost carefully,” ang nakasaad sa artikulo.

And then, with a precision that suggested he had thought about this for some time, he added that the national budget process begins in the executive branch. Not with the Speaker. With the President,’ nakasaad pa rin dito. (DARIS JOSE)