FORMER Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) presidential candidate Leodegario “Ka Leody” de Guzman said corruption in the Philippines cannot be solved by punishing individual officials alone but requires dismantling the political dynasties that sustain it.
Speaking at the Artikulo Onse multi-sectoral briefing in San Juan City on Monday, de Guzman said the purpose of Article 11 of the Constitution “is to end corruption in the Philippines, not only to punish the thieves in infrastructure projects, contractors, and government officials.”
He said past presidents relied on executive orders, commissions, and lifestyle checks that led to the jailing of certain officials but failed to stop systemic graft.
He recalled how corruption persisted under administrations from Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to Rodrigo Duterte, stressing that even with prosecutions, “the face of the thieves is too thick” and corruption kept returning.
De Guzman said political dynasties remain the root of the problem, pointing out that the Constitution had prohibited dynasties as a lesson from the Marcos regime.
“Even if you remove all the contractors, congressmen, Marcoses, and Dutertes, if political dynasties remain, the stealing will continue,” he said.
He also warned against using the names of the Marcos and Duterte families as a cover for controversies such as corruption in flood control projects, saying accountability must be directed at systemic failures rather than pinned selectively.
De Guzman encouraged the younger generation to “keep the fire burning in the fight against corruption,” calling the struggle not just a legal or institutional battle but a political and generational duty.
