Akbayan Party-list Representative Perci Cendaña on Friday challenged the Marcos administration to take decisive action against corruption following the acquittal of several high-profile figures in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.

Cendaña made the statement after the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division acquitted former senator and now Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, his former chief of staff Gigi Reyes, detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, and over 40 other individuals of 15 counts of graft linked to the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

He said that "the acquittal of those involved in the PDAF scam is a travesty that must not be repeated."

“We challenge the Marcos administration to swiftly convict those behind the flood control corruption, recover stolen funds, and pass the Open Bicam and Open Infra Bill," Cendaña said. "The people are watching. "

The Sandiganbayan, however, ordered Napoles and several other accused to pay more than ₱200 million in civil liability for the 15 counts of graft. No civil liability was imposed against Enrile and Reyes.

In response to mounting criticism, Malacañang earlier urged the public to respect the court’s ruling.

“Igalang po natin kung anong desisyon ng Korte,” Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro said in a press conference on Friday.

The PDAF scam, uncovered in 2013, involved the alleged diversion of lawmakers’ discretionary funds into bogus non-governmental organizations linked to Napoles.

It remains one of the country’s most controversial corruption scandals, implicating several legislators and government officials, some of whom were also linked to irregularities in flood control projects.

Cendaña warned that repeated acquittals in major corruption cases could erode public confidence in the justice system and embolden wrongdoers.