Our economy versus major challenges we face

BABE'S EYE VIEW FROM WASHINGTON, D.C.

- AMBASSADOR B. ROMUALDEZ

There is absolutely no doubt the Philippines is facing major challenges today, especially with the massive endemic corruption involving flood control projects that are now being investigated. This came about following President Marcos' revelation that 15 contractors have cornered an estimated P100 billion out of the P545 billion allocated for government-funded flood control projects from 2022 to 2025—prompting strong condemnation from Filipinos and Catholic Church leaders who described it as "a moral abomination that strikes at the heart of our people's dignity."

Big business groups also expressed their "outrage, disgust and disappointment" as well as their concern that the guilty ones among members of Congress, the Department of Public Works and Highways and local government leaders could just "continue their merry way of robbing the people and filling their pockets"—saying that justice can only be achieved by "punishing the corrupt."

The flood control scandal put a spotlight on the systemic corruption in government, revealing patterns of fixed bidding; license selling or renting with established contractors renting out construction licenses to smaller and less qualified companies; collusion among DPWH engineers, government officials and unscrupulous contractors for overpriced but substandard or nonexistent projects; budget insertions and kickbacks from politicians and lawmakers.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon now faces the gargantuan task of "cleaning up the house," and many fully approve of his initial steps like ordering DPWH officials from top to bottom to submit courtesy resignations, suspension of bidding for locally funded projects, permanent blacklisting of contractors implicated in ghost projects and filing of administrative cases against employees involved in ghost projects.