President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said individuals charged due to their involvement in the anomalous flood control projects would be jailed before Christmas.

In a press conference on Thursday, Marcos said they will not have a "Merry Christmas" this year.

"Your happy days are over, we will go after you," he said. Marcos himself revealed scandals in flood control projects in his State of the Nation Address last July.

Marcos presented slides containing the names of accused of being involved in flood control anomalies.

The slide included the names of the 37 individuals, including lawmakers, former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials and contractors, who are part of the first batch of case referrals to the Ombudsman.

The list included the names of Senators Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada, former Ako Bikol Partylist Representative and House Appropriations Chairman Zaldy Co, former Caloocan 2nd district representative Mitch Cajayon-Uy, Commission on Audit Commissioner Mario Lipana, former DPWH Secretary Manual Bonoan, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, and former DPWH undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral.

In a television interview, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said that around 40 people charged for their alleged involvement in the anomalous flood control project are expected to be jailed within the month.

"I know that before Christmas most of them that were named, the case against them is almost complete and they will be jailed... they will not have a Merry Christmas, before Christmas they will be jailed,”Marcos added.

Dizon explained that according to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla the criminal charges related to the flood control projects in Bulacan and Oriental Mindoro will be filed this week or next week.

"That's what gives us hope. We'll only have to count a few weeks or maybe a few days until some perpetrators are charged. And because these cases are non-bailable, someone will be jailed," Dizon said.

"We do not have to wait for December. As early as this November, someone will go to jail," he added.

Dizon said "in those two cases, 26 are in Bulacan including the Discayas and Alcantara et al., then 15 in Mindoro including former congressman Zaldy Co and his company."

"That’s almost 40 people who will be jailed just for those two cases," he added.

Ranjit Rye, president of Octa Research, said 60 percent of Filipinos are angry with the flood control scandal. ''The leadership expectation is quite high,'' he told TV program Storycon.

So far, criminal cases have been filed against incumbent and former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Commission on Audit (COA), incumbent and former legislators, and contractors.

A few days before President Marcos created the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) on September 11, the DPWH and COA filed with the Ombudsman the first set of criminal charges, against three contractors: St. Timothy Construction, Wawao Builders, and SYMS Construction Trading.

The DPWH also blacklisted nine construction companies linked to couple Pacifico and Sarah Discaya, including St. Timothy Construction.

Also in September, the DPWH filed with the Ombudsman graft charges against 20 officials and personnel of the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Officer (DEO) and six contractors from St. Timothy Construction, Wawao Builders, SYMS Construction Trading, IM Construction Corp., and Topnotch Catalyst Builders/One Frame Construction.

That month, the Bureau of Customs seized 13 luxury vehicles owned by the Discayas due to irregularities in their importation, and set the public auction on November 20. Robina Asido-DMS