EDITORIALS: Yuletide Reckoning

THE statement of Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon that several officials and contractors involved in anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan may be jailed by Christmas marks a bold and unprecedented turn in the fight against corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

According to a report by Joseph Morong of GMA Integrated News, Dizon identified former DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, former Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez, and contractor Sarah Discaya among those facing non-bailable charges at the Office of the Ombudsman.

The complaint, filed last September 11, stems from nine flood control projects worth P249 million that were allegedly riddled with irregularities.

For decades, infrastructure corruption has been the bane of Philippine development. Ghost projects, overpriced materials, and collusion between contractors and public officials have drained billions in taxpayers’ money — resources that should have safeguarded lives and livelihoods against the very floods these projects were meant to prevent.

That the DPWH itself initiated this complaint is both significant and refreshing. The department, long dogged by allegations of graft, now appears to be cleaning its own ranks under new leadership.

Secretary Dizon’s strong words — that these respondents could spend Christmas behind bars — send a signal of resolve that is rarely heard in a bureaucracy often content with internal investigations that go nowhere.

Yet, while the assurance of swift justice is welcome, caution remains necessary. Due process must still prevail, and the Ombudsman and the courts must act independently, insulated from political pressure or public theatrics. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done — based on evidence, not pronouncements.

Still, this case offers a glimmer of hope. If pursued with consistency and integrity, it could set a precedent for accountability across other DPWH districts and beyond.

The public deserves not just roads, bridges, and flood-ways that work — but a government that works honestly.

If indeed those guilty of corruption will spend Christmas behind bars, it will be more than a seasonal headline; it will be a symbol of long-awaited reckoning.

This time, let justice—not graft—flood our institutions.

Prioritize Learning

SENATOR Bam Aquino’s renewed call to reallocate the government’s massive P260-billion flood control budget toward education, health, and essential public services is both timely and thought-provoking.

It raises a fundamental question about the nation’s spending priorities: should we continue pouring billions into infrastructure projects often mired in allegations of corruption, or should we invest more deeply in people—particularly the youth who will build the country’s future?

Aquino made his appeal during the conferment of an honorary Doctor of Education degree by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, in recognition of his authorship of the landmark Libreng Kolehiyo Law (RA 10931).

This legislation has opened the doors of higher education to millions of Filipino students, many of whom would otherwise have been denied the chance to earn a degree due to poverty.

His statement—“Education, not corruption”—captures the frustration of many Filipinos who see flood control projects as an easy source of padded contracts and kickbacks, while classrooms remain overcrowded, teachers underpaid, and learning facilities woefully inadequate.

Redirecting even a portion of the flood control funds could mean more classrooms, improved teacher benefits, and wider scholarship coverage. It could mean hope for 3.5 million students enrolled in state universities and colleges (SUCs), local universities and colleges (LUCs), and private schools that rely on subsidies under RA 10931.

To be clear, flood control is a legitimate need in a country regularly battered by typhoons. But the sheer magnitude of its budget—often outpacing allocations for education—deserves scrutiny. When infrastructure funds grow fat while classrooms crumble, the imbalance becomes not only fiscal but moral.

The government’s budget is a mirror of its values. If we truly believe that education is the great equalizer, then it must be treated as a national priority, not a leftover. Senator Aquino’s call should spark a broader debate in Congress and among the public: what kind of nation do we want to build—one fortified by dikes and drainage, or one strengthened by minds and character?

Rechanneling funds to education is not merely a budgetary adjustment. It is an investment in the future, a declaration that the Filipino youth deserve more than token support. They deserve the best the nation can give.