17/10/2025
๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ข๐ก | ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐: ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป?
Before the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) disrupted the mechanism of the world, particularly the Philippines, people were not only concealed with worry and fear but were also confronted with numerous corruption scandals involving those who were supposed to serve as public servants and role models of the citizensโthe government. These issues should have been solved and condemned, but it was the other way aroundโthey were ignored, forgotten, and eventually combusted by the flames of the pandemic. Today, as influenza loudly spreads amid the growing spotlight on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)โs ghost projects, one cannot help but wonderโwill the country once again sink into the same cycle of negligence?
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐: ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
One of the most unforgettable corruption cases in the country was the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), commonly known as the Pork Barrel Scam. In 2013, it was exposed that funds intended for infrastructure, scholarship, and livelihood projects were diverted into fake non-government organizations (NGOs) created by Janet Lim Napoles in collusion with several legislators.
A year later, in 2014, the Ombudsman prosecuted Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Ramon Revilla Jr. for multiple counts of graft and plunder, who were still freed later. After years of legal sarsuela, the Sandiganbayan sentenced Napoles to over 103 years in prison and ordered her to pay โฑ241.82 million for eight corruption cases. The money that was supposed to uplift poor communities was instead pocketed by those entrusted with public service.
The same narrative of deceit happened in 2020, this time within the Bureau of Customs (BOC). The agency seized 997 illegal shipments worth โฑ10.629 billion, including ci******es, to***co, illegal drugs, and smuggled goods ranging from medical supplies to agricultural products and even fi****ms. The BOC filed criminal charges against several importers and revoked the licenses of 575 importers and 148 brokers for violating customs laws.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป
When COVID-19 was born in late 2019 and early 2020, the countryโs focus drastically shifted. Media outlets, civil society, and even government attention turned toward the state of emergencyโpublic health, lockdowns, and vaccines. Every headline revolved around infection numbers, hospital capacity, and panic buying of alcohol and face masks. Amidst this chaos, discussions about corruption, stolen public funds, and delayed infrastructure quietly disappeared from public discourse. Peopleโs attention was consumed by survival. The face mask became not only a symbol of protection but also of concealment, covering not just our mouths, but also the truth that needed to be spoken.
Years later, with these corrupt practices overshadowed by the pandemic, similar issues persisted. For instance, in 2021, smuggled agricultural products worth โฑ37 million were seized at the Subic Port. Another notable case was the onion crisis of 2022โ2023, which prompted the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to file charges against 12 vegetable traders for engaging in anti-competitive agreements and manipulating prices during that time.
These recurring cases show that corruption is not an isolated event, it is a cycle that persists when forgotten and incompletely punished. Like many corruption cases in the Philippines, these scandals eventually faded into silence, through repeating the same mistakes, and overshadowed by the slow justice system and a lack of transparency.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐: ๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
Fast forward to 2025, and the story feels all too familiar. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) once again finds itself under the public scrutiny for purportedly ghost and substandard infrastructure projects. Investigations have revealed that contractors such as Wawao Builders, Syms Construction Trading, and St. Timothy Construction Corporation were involved in questionable transactions related to multimillion-peso flood control projects. One example stands out in Barangay Piel, Baliuag, Bulacan, where a โฑ55-million reinforced concrete river wall was reported as โcompleted,โ yet inspections later proved that not a single structure had been built, deepening doubts about the integrity of the system.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ธ: ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ช๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ธ
Now, the country faces a renewed concern with influenza outbreaks, a contagious respiratory illness, which affects the society in different ways, such as schools suspending classes, workplaces and public gathering are limited, and the return of face mask mandates on other parts of the country. Though the DPWH has filed charges and dismissed several officials, the bigger concern remains, will this, too, become another unresolved story, buried under the weight of bureaucracy and collective forgetfulness? This pushes people to conclude with metaphorical questions: ๐ผ๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ก๐ก๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐จ? ๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐๐ก๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐ค๐ง ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐๐๐?
Viewed in retrospect, it becomes clear that corruption in the Philippines has shown a consistent pattern. From scandals erupting, public outrage follows, some legal actions are taken, but the underlying issues such as unbuilt projects, misused funds, and weak accountability, often remain unresolved and continue to happen. In a nation where scandals come and go as quickly as headlines change, people must ask: ๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐จ ๐ข๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง ๐ข๐๐จ๐ ๐จ, ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ค๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ?
