Fix the budget process

The flood control scandal has more to do with the flawed budget process, rather than corruption itself.

- MARVIN TORT

Simply put, the present process lends itself to corruption. Realistically, corruption can be minimized but not completely eliminated. And to minimize corruption, the budget process should be reformed.

If we wait for all ongoing investigations to end before modifying the budget process, then we are doomed. Worse, if we fixate only on going after crooks and jailing them rather than urgently revising the budget process in parallel, then expect corruption to persist.

The flood control scandal is the predictable result of a budget system that had tolerated opaque releases, midnight insertions, and cosmetic public participation. The sad part is that we have had an antidote in a suite of budget reform bills filed in 2010-2011 that lawmakers largely ignored.

Had Congress enacted these bills two administrations ago, many of today's losses in public money, and in trust in government, could have been avoided. We might also have had better infrastructure and improved services. Instead, we are now grappling with a bottomless pit of a scandal.

What has been revealed thus far: substandard or ghost flood projects, an over-concentrated contractor pool, and alleged kickbacks from contractors to lawmakers who facilitated the release of project funds. At the heart are hundreds of billions of pesos in flood control projects since 2022.

After the President "exposed" the problem, emergency brakes were applied. Investigations have been initiated. A number of people involved have been identified. Witnesses are being vetted. But the smarter course is to urgently design corruption opportunities out of the budget system.