Time of reckoning

After a series of gripping and damning revelations about the country's flood control budget and projects, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan has resigned — a move seen to pave the way for an impartial and thorough investigation.

- JOE ZALDARRIAGA

According to the Presidential Communications Office, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon replaced Bonoan at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and has been tasked to "conduct a full organizational sweep of the Department and ensure that public funds are used solely for infrastructure that truly protects and benefits the Filipino people."

While necessary considering the public outrage, the resignation of Bonoan should not be viewed as an end in itself. A leadership change alone will not magically fix the system and cleanse the DPWH of corruption that has been so deeply mired, has eroded public trust, compromised public welfare, and slowed economic development.

Resignations make headlines but they do not, on their own, deliver accountability or reform. The problem is not only in who sits at the top of the DPWH but in how the institution itself operates — how abusive and corrupt officials and contractors have mastered the game at the expense of taxpaying Filipinos.