Ecosystem

At least, we are now scratching the tip of a very large iceberg.

- ALEX MAGNO

President Marcos has ordered lifestyle checks on government officials, beginning with those from agencies linked to the scandal over flood-control projects. This could be a long process - too long for a public outraged by what we know now about the organized looting of taxpayer money.

Furthermore, the lifestyle checks do not cover those in Congress who commandeered the budget to facilitate thievery. Nor does it include the group of contractors involved in syndicated looting. Some of them even paid to have their lavish lifestyles advertised. Their children wantonly displayed their loot in their social media accounts.

We might have had more immediate results if the President instead ordered into existence a task force of government auditors, tax collectors and customs examiners. Angry taxpayers want to see bank accounts frozen, immigrations watch lists put out and the brazen fruits of corruption seized.

Eventually, we will have to look beyond just the erring contractors and the politicians who control them. There is a large ecosystem of dubious businesses associated with the most visible public works scams.

For instance, it is widely known in the construction sector that the most notorious public works contractors use substandard building materials. This lowers the cost of undertaking the projects and helps conceal the huge kickbacks that happened.