FEBRUARY 13, 2026 — Billions allegedly funneled into kickbacks, while we’re left with crumbs — that’s the scandal now shaking the Palace. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is being linked to leaked Signal messages that supposedly show Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin acting as his “bagman,” reporting and disbursing funds from anomalous infrastructure projects. The bombshell comes courtesy of Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, who claims to have secured video captures of Bersamin’s phone, and House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio, who went public with the details.

Tinio, in a televised interview, laid it bare: “Actually, they were video screen captures, presumably of the phone of Adrian Bersamin himself … they were Signal messages, between PBBM and Adrian Bersamin.” 

The alleged exchanges spanned December 2024 to July 2025, a period when billions in infrastructure money were supposed to be building roads and bridges, not lining pockets.

The timing of Bersamin’s visit to Leviste’s house in November 2025 is crucial. Just days earlier, Sen. Panfilo Lacson had stood in the Senate and claimed Marcos’ name was merely being used by other officials to justify kickbacks. That statement, according to Tinio, sent Bersamin and others into panic mode — drafting affidavits, scrambling for defenses, and even showing up at Leviste’s residence to work on documents. CCTV footage allegedly confirms Bersamin’s arrival.

But Tinio didn’t stop at describing the footage. He dropped the hammer: Bersamin, he said, appeared to be “the personal runner, bagman, and disbursing officer of the President as far as illegal kickbacks are concerned.” That’s a direct accusation that the President himself was in the loop.

The Makabayan bloc had already filed an impeachment complaint against Marcos, but proceedings were cut short before these alleged messages could be presented. Imagine the fireworks if they had been. Would the President still be sitting comfortably in office today?

For the masses, the outrage is simple: billions allegedly stolen, while classrooms remain overcrowded, hospitals underfunded, and commuters stuck on half-finished roads. Every peso lost to corruption is a peso stolen from the people.

This is yet another test of how much Filipinos are willing to swallow. Leaders promise progress, but if the leaks are true, progress was sold off for kickbacks … again.

So here’s the question that should echo across the country: How long will we allow our leaders to treat public funds like their personal piggy bank?

(Image: PIA - Philippine Information Agency)