JANUARY 15, 2026 — First it was P1 billion. Now it’s P2 billion. Yes, you read that right — Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has revealed that he and his brother, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, were slapped again with a jaw-dropping bribe offer to clear suspects in the flood control scandal. And this time, the attempt came from two fronts: one group from Visayas-Mindanao, another from Luzon.

“It’s now two. One group from Visayas-Mindanao. Another from Luzon,” Remulla bared in a dzBB interview. “One contractor and a congressman who is also a contractor.”

A congressman doubling as a contractor? That alone should raise eyebrows. But what’s more shocking is the brazenness of dangling billions just to “quiet down” an investigation involving flood control projects — funds meant to protect ordinary Filipinos from drowning in waist-deep water every rainy season.

Remulla explained that the bribers wanted him to “remove them from the list and let them out on bail.” 

He flatly refused, saying, “It really just cannot be. It’s not in our system, and we wouldn’t allow it.”

He clarified that the offer wasn’t from Zaldy Co, the former House appropriations chair now facing graft and malversation charges over a P286.5-million flood control project in Mindoro. 

But here’s the kicker: Remulla said suing the alleged bribers isn’t possible because their emissaries make it “deniable” since the offer didn't come, as they say, ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’.

So what happens when bribery attempts can be brushed off as hearsay? How many more shady deals slip through the cracks while communities remain vulnerable to floods?

Remulla said the ombudsman’s reaction was blunt, saying “He laughed. He said, ‘Is that really how small they think of us?’” 

But then, there’s also the possibility that the Remullas are playing the hero card a little too hard. Could these “bribe attempts” be more political theater than actual scandal, a convenient way to polish their image and make their names smell rosy in the middle of a messy flood control controversy? 

Could it be that the Remullas are cashing in on the drama, turning bribe talk into their own PR float?

After all, in Philippine politics, nothing sells better than a narrative of incorruptibility — especially when the timing feels just right.

Who knows, right? Only time will tell. 

So the million-peso question is this: Are the Remullas truly standing tall against corruption, or are they staging a political drama to paint themselves as untouchable heroes while the flood scandal gets dirtier by the day?

(Image: Batas PH | Facebook)