Dizon to order DPWH courtesy resignations

Top-to-bottom purge amid flood anomalies

- ALEXIS ROMERO, Louella Desiderio, Neil Jayson Servallos, Rainier Allan Ronda, Janvic Mateo, Delon Porcalla, Emmanuel Tupas, Ric Obedencio, Gilbert Bayoran

Referring to the country's flooding woes, President Marcos ordered newly appointed Public Works Secretary Vivencio Dizon to carry out a "clean sweep" of his agency, starting with a top-to-bottom purge of its officials.

Dizon, who assumed office as chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) yesterday, said his first directive was to order the courtesy resignations of the agency's officials, from undersecretaries down to district engineers nationwide.

"We need to have a clean slate, according to the President. It cannot be limited to the top. It cannot be limited to the bottom. It should be top to bottom," Dizon told a press briefing hours after he was sworn in by President Marcos at Malacañang.

"This is the start...of a clean sweep. That is the first directive of the President," Dizon said.

He vowed to conduct a thorough review of all DPWH personnel, saying the President wants him to find the competent ones and place them in sensitive and key posts. Marcos also instructed Dizon to identify public works personnel involved in anomalous projects and to remove them from their posts.

Dizon, who was appointed to the DPWH as the agency is facing scrutiny over alleged irregularities in flood control projects, acknowledged that the flooding problem won't disappear immediately, but the government has to start addressing it.

"It has to be addressed right away.

It will not be easy. There is no miracle here. No silver bullet. It will not be fixed tomorrow. This will take time because it has taken decades for this to build up like this," he said.

Lifetime blacklisting, PCAB revamp

Aside from the internal purging in DPWH, Dizon is also planning to punish contractors found to be involved in corruption with lifetime blacklisting.