EDITORIAL: Beyond Warrants

THE unfolding developments in the P289.5-million Oriental Mindoro flood control scandal once again underscore a lingering truth in our nation’s justice system: accountability remains uneven, delayed, and often dependent on public pressure.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) revealed that two executives of Sunwest Incorporated — the private firm linked to the questionable road dike project — have sent surrender feelers after police failed to serve arrest warrants on them at a Pasay City hotel.

It is a familiar scene: accused individuals, clearly aware of the charges against them, appear to weigh their options instead of immediately submitting to the rule of law.

CIDG director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II said that despite their high corporate positions, these executives were “dragged into this” and lack the financial means to defend themselves. Whether this is true or merely a sympathetic framing, one thing remains unquestionable: the law does not distinguish between the powerful and the powerless. Those named must face the courts.

The Sunwest case is not an isolated incident. Former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co — who once held immense influence as House appropriations chair — stands accused alongside 15 others of graft and malversation. The list includes Sunwest officials and several Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 4B officers who were arrested just last week. These arrests demonstrate that the state can act decisively when it chooses to.

But the public cannot help but ask: Why are some still at large? Why do arrest attempts feel more like obligatory performances rather than assertive enforcement?

It is commendable that nine DPWH Mimaropa officials are now under government custody. Their cooperation should serve as an example. Yet the remaining fugitives — among them Sunwest’s top executives and a DPWH materials engineer — continue to test the state’s resolve.

This case, at its core, is not just about a failed infrastructure project. It is about public trust. Flood control projects exist to protect communities, especially in provinces where lives and livelihoods depend on the integrity of government work. When billions of pesos are lost to anomaly, it is not the riverbanks that suffer first — it is the people.

As authorities pursue the remaining suspects, the public must see a justice system that neither hesitates nor negotiates away its mandate. Surrender feelers are not enough. Arrest warrants must be served. Cases must proceed without favor. The Sandiganbayan must be allowed to do its work without interference.

Accountability must flow freely — just like the floodwaters these projects were meant to contain.