๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฃ๐๐ข๐ข๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ข๐๐ฆ
Oh, wait.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s anger detonated last week as he expressed how frustrated he is with the discovery of a ₱55-million project for a river wall in Bulacan that has been repeatedly bragged to have already been finished, when in actuality, not an inch of concrete in it has been built yet. When he perpetrated an inspection in Baliuag, Bulacan on August 20, 2025, he couldn't hold it in and said “Hindi ako nadismaya, galit ako," and proceeded to warn the people behind these "ghost projects" that they could potentially be charged with economic sabotage and graft.
But this abomination was nothing compared to what Senator Panfilo Lacson publicized in the same week. On the same day, August 20, in a scrupulous privilege speech which he titled "Flooded Gates of Corruption," he reveales his discovery that half of the funds for the flood control projects for the past 15 years has been lost to anomalous transactions and that there have been funds that have never reached their sun. Instead of being deposited to the actual projects, only 40 percent have been used for construction. He went on to state that Bulacan is one of the most affected places by these aberrations, which shows how enormous these corruptions are currently.
As if these weren't appalling enough, Representative Leandro Leviste also didn't dodge the chance to expose a case of pilfering that's connected to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). On August 22, he discloses that Abelardo Calalo, the DPWH Batangas District Engineer, offered ₱3.1 million worth of sum to thwart the investigation on the abnormalities in the flood control projects. Due to this, Calalo was arrested in an entrapment operation, suspended, and charged with cases of bribery and corruption.
And these are only the tip of the iceberg of the dirty laundries from contractors, companies, and officials that are now progressively leaking each day, in the growing monstrosity of the embezzlement of the flood project funds.
During a press conference in Malacaรฑang last Monday, August 11, President Bong Bong Marcos (PBBM) stated the findings of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that PhP100 billion worth of 20 percent of all flood control projects in the past three years was allocated to only 15 contractors despite the identified total of 2,409 contractors for both local and national flood control projects according to the DPWH.
The DPWH added that since July 2022, the government spent ₱545 billion on flood control things—but just those very few contractors grabbed about ₱100 billion of that pie—roughly only 20% of the total. The rest is even more insufferable — over 6,000 projects, around ₱350 billion worth, don’t even disclose what kind of flood structure they were building—no clue if they were dikes, pumps, drainage, nada.
The finding was understandably severe that PBBM was forced to foreground his website with words from his speech during his fourth State of the Nation Address last July 28, which read "Sa mga nakikipagsabwatan upang kunin ang pondo ng bayan at nakawin ang kinabukasan ng ating mga mamamayan, MAHIYA NAMAN KAYO sa inyong kapwa Pilipino!" It seems as if for the first time in his term, the president finally said something right and substantial in sense.
In 2004, the agriculture program called “Ginintuang Masaganang Ani,” was supposedly to help farmers get fertilizer for better harvests. However, Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante allegedly decided to refuse from helping farmers and instead help election campaigns. Instead of buying fertilizers, around ₱728 million supposedly got funneled to prop up then-President Arroyo’s bid for reelection. Imagine announcing you’re giving farmers free tools, then showing up on campaign day with “free” money to make sure certain politicians stayed in power. By the time the Senate started digging into it in 2006, it had that unmistakable smell of “we’ll dress it up as a project, but it’s really just a political piggy bank.”
During the 2010s, the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was supposed to be this nice little pot of money lawmakers could use for “priority projects” in their districts — schools, roads, clinics, you name it. But the goatskinned businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles allegedly set up a whole network of fake NGOs, and lawmakers just happened to funnel their PDAF money to them.
The “NGOs” pocketed the cash — about ₱10 billion worth — and in return, those lawmakers allegedly got fat kickbacks. So instead of community projects, the only thing getting developed was some people’s bank accounts. By the time the scandal broke in 2013, people were furious that they’ve been paying taxes so they can fund ghost charities. It was recallably nefarious it actually killed the PDAF system completely.
The Philippines already has a decades-long history of elites and companies who are stealthily inserting their hands into the pocket of the treasury of the country. Mongrels who actually lack interest to committing to the projects entrusted to them, as their burning desire is, in reality, in the money they could misappropriate. Scoundrels who implacably exploit the secret privileges they have in the contraction business, as they are too secluded to be naked to the public eye anyway.
So how can the money intended for all these projects just be conveniently pocketed by peso-eyed hippos?
๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ข ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐
Some contractors are able to unabashedly embezzle cash from these projects due to the padrino system—where if they are affiliated with a family member in politics or in the government, or if they have friendly connections there, rather than on the basis or merit, those snake-skinned apprentices could give them promotions, government contracts, and money deals. And no one would suspect, as the paper trail is buried under layers of shell companies, subcontractor kickbacks, and budget justifications rubber-stamped by allies in oversight offices who owe their careers to the same patrons.
Remember the scandal of E.C. de Luna Construction Corp., owned by Eduardo C. de Luna during the late 2000s? Investigators found that de Luna was part of a cartel colluding with other big firms like China Road and Bridge Corp. to rig the prices of DPWH road contracts funded by the World Bank. Witnesses told investigators that de Luna enjoyed political protection from influential lawmakers and DPWH officials, which kept him untouchable despite repeated irregularities. The scheme was so blatant that the World Bank permanently blacklisted the poor and nepotistic de Luna and his company.
๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ-๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ง
Some contractors are also forced to “pass through” a district gatekeeper. Before the shovel hits the dirt, a contractor's family member or friends in the infrastractural business needs to be given 5–6% cut of the cost of his or her project. Sen. Ping Lacson called out this exact ‘passing through’ scheme in flood-control and other DPWH projects—the contractor pays the toll when operating in a lawmaker’s turf, making the contraction business a foul-smelling lair where humbug individuals see the whole area as a nepotistic business and buffet where they feed on the food that's not theirs and don't wash the dishes.
Back in 2020, former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III took ₱41.46 billion from the DOH budget—money meant to save lives during COVID—and handed it over to Procurement Service of The Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) like it was some shady side hustle, no proper paperwork, no MOA, nothing. That’s the same office that “coincidentally” ended up buying those overpriced face shields and masks. He was so cunning to have found a shortcut to move the cash where accountability could get lost in the fog.
๐ง๐๐ "๐๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐ข๐ก ๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ" ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ
Some contractors also sneakily fake the progress of the projects they were handed with. Paperwork gets “creatively” written to show milestones reached, photos are staged or recycled from other sites, and inspection reports are rubber-stamped to match the fake progress. But in reality, the roads remain potholes, the schools are still scaffoldings, and water systems stay contaminated or pouring nothing but dehydration. Meanwhile, some big-bellied contractor is sipping beer on a cruise ship, funded by taxpayer blood and signed off with a wink and a handshake from an “honorable” official who couldn’t build a Lego set, let alone a bridge.
They use multiple layers of subcontractors and consultants to make it difficult to trace responsibility. When things go wrong, they shamelessly blame “third-party delays” or “partner mismanagement,” insulating themselves from direct accountability.
In Malacaรฑang's recently published website "Sumbong sa Pangulo" where the public can voice out their suspicions on projects in their areas, there have also been discoveries of ghost projects, contractors using names as covers. Many people have reported seeing a construction project in Bicol was tied to “Hi-Tone,” an Albay-based contract company which bagged 61 projects in the same period totaling P4,856,993,286.23, which strongly suggests hidden networks.
There has also been findings of corrupt construction practices happen in areas where folks can't check the work—such as their refusal to bury pile lengths properly, in order for inspectors to be unable to verify it later.
This all boils down to one truth—that it's not just about who gets the contract, but how they keep it opaque so there's no accountability. And the infrastructure never really gets built or is substandard. Meanwhile, flooding still wreaks havoc.
The atrocious accessibility of people entrusted to undertake the government projects to burglarize the funds of those ventures are rooted in the exploitation of lack of need for public accountability. The wrong thing about the present system is that these people are not given the responsibility of public oversight and liability, which allows them to constantly abuse the treasury of the country without being noticed or detected when they palm-grease.
Hence, the tax payments of people intended for driving the progress of the country forward goes to uncle's champagne he and his wife audaciously drink together. The money that a shop owner should have used to refill some materials in it but sacrificed to pay for the levy only heads to sir's iPhone 16 Pro. The tax payment that a teacher hard-earned for six months went to mayor's mansion. PBBM was right. You should all have a little shame for yourselves.
Thus, some buildings look strong initially but actually have a weak foundation and collapses during minor earthquakes or strong winds. Some water systems fail to meet safety standards and makes residents sick. Some bridges are inferior that they subside and cause accidents. Some roads are so low-quality that they turn out unsafe. Many infrastructures in the country are built with very poor quality because their contractors don't even care for them, only the money they can bribe from the project funds.
The country needs to strengthen the public transparency of government projects. The New Government Procurement Act, also known as Republic Act No. 12009, needs to be reformed into a more effective law. When people have an oversight financial information, including budget allocation, procurement processes, and actual expenditures, they will they will be better equipped to hold officials accountable and ensure that public funds are used efficiently and honestly. And through this, they will be able to scrutinize whether projects meet their intended quality, timelines, and costs, and detect any misuse or misallocation of funds.
Individuals and companies that the government entrusts the projects to are supposed to make the country progressive. We need people who are ready to perpetrate serious commitment to making the country better, not making it worse.
✍: Christian Jhon Dela Cruz, Section Editor
๐ผ: Patrick James Ureta, Editorial Cartoonist
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