President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signaled that the national government is expanding its deep-dive investigation into the illegal manufacture and distribution of substandard construction materials, warning that the problem is turning out to be far larger than initially expected.
The crackdown follows investigations into several structural collapses triggered by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao in June. Speaking during a Kapihan media briefing in India, Marcos shared that ongoing checks suggest the widespread use of inferior building components is not an isolated issue.
“Meron pa siguro tayo mga makikita dahil tuloy-tuloy ang paghahanap natin. Noong una, akala namin iilan lang. Tapos habang tumatagal ang investigation, baka mas mayroon pa pala (We might still uncover more, as the search is ongoing. At first, we thought there were only a few. But as the investigation progresses, it appears there could be more),” President Marcos told reporters.
Probing Years of Compromised Construction
Based on government records, the proliferation of substandard steel, cement, and core materials began as far back as 2018. Marcos stressed that distributing compromised materials poses grave risks to public safety by severely undercutting the structural integrity of residential and commercial developments.
“So pinagpapatuloy namin ang investigation, paghahanap. Tinitingnan natin mabuti gaano kalaki ang operations. Dahil sa tagal na nilang nandiyan, siguro ‘yung natayo nila madami-dami na (We are continuing the investigation and the search. We are carefully assessing the scale of the operations. Given how long they have been there, they have likely established quite a significant setup),” he added.
Parallel to POGO Crackdowns
Drawing a direct comparison to previous government crackdowns, Marcos noted that uncovering illicit construction networks mirrors the early stages of the probe into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which eventually unmasked widespread criminal networks.
“Kagaya siguro nung POGO ‘yan na nung hinuli natin, nagulat tayong lahat, ang laki na pala ng kanilang operation. I don’t think this will be that bad. But it’s bigger than most people know (It’s probably like the POGO situation when we finally cracked down on them, we were all shocked to discover just how massive their operations had become. I don’t think this will be quite that bad, but it is bigger than most people realize),” Marcos said.
Inter-agency task forces are currently auditing manufacturing facilities, importers, and major construction supply chains nationwide to identify non-compliant suppliers and hold responsible parties accountable.