Secrecy is transparency’s enemy

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) needs to make public the list of “ghost” flood control projects inspected by the police and military without delay, as transparency is the call of the times.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, along with the Philippine National Police, has so far identified 252 flood control projects as nonexistent out of the 10,000 flood control projects approved for construction between 2016 and 2025. But the AFP, having announced this last week, has decided to keep the list private for now, with a promise to provide a complete report to the ICI soon. (see “Military flags more than 250 ‘ghost’ public works projects,” Headlines, 12/03/25).

According to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee (BRC), as much as P79 billion in taxpayer money was lost to “ghost” flood control projects between 2016 and 2025. The committee previously identified 494 projects that are nonexistent, and this number does not include substandard public works projects, such as multipurpose buildings, he disclosed.

However, until the listing is published, it is unclear whether the AFP and BRC are referring to the same set of public works projects. The AFP is targeting at least 20,000 more similar projects for inspection. Hopefully, this figure includes Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects in island provinces and far-flung towns that are under the control of well-established political clans.

Crisis of confidence. Given these complications, it’s thus incumbent upon the ICI, once it obtains the consolidated reports of the AFP and PNP, to promptly make this information public. The reason is obvious: in a political environment marked by a crisis of confidence due to the involvement of high officials in the flood control kickback scheme, any effort to help restore the broken trust between the electorate and the elected will be most welcome. Shielding the report from public view is not consistent with the ICI’s commitment to following evidence wherever it leads, in pursuit of accountability and transparency.

Moreover, the lack of media coverage for the ICI hearings is giving its critics ammunition to doubt its impartiality. But this columnist believes that the ICI is unlikely to succumb to selective justice, given the proven integrity of its members and the vigilance of the Filipino citizenry, who are fed up with the pervasive culture of corruption that has derailed national development, worsened bureaucratic inefficiency, and exacerbated social divisions.

Vigilant citizens are expecting to be informed regularly about the efforts of the ICI and DPWH to identify those responsible for nonexistent or substandard projects that have caused endless misery to Filipinos. The enemy of transparency is secrecy, as it creates an information vacuum that can be exploited by rumor mills. The flood control scandal is akin to a forest fire that has turned into an inferno, engulfing the surrounding villages. Solomon’s words apply in this case: “Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a quarrel dies down” (Proverbs 26:20).

Recall that the mandate of the ICI stemmed from President Marcos’ genuine desire to solve the mystery of why only 15 contractors had cornered roughly 20 percent of the P545 billion flood control contracts since 2022, and why many flood control projects bear identical costs. To establish how the web of corruption developed, it would make sense for this anticorruption investigation to look at projects from before his term. By granting ICI the authority to go back in time, as far back as his predecessor’s administration, the President is telling ICI officials not to leave any stone unturned. This comprehensive focus makes all DPWH infrastructure projects, including those for flood control, roads, bridges, classrooms, and other vertical structures such as barangay health centers and multipurpose halls, subject to scrutiny.

But it was the sumbongsapangulo.ph website that opened the floodgates for citizens and journalists to participate in this wide-ranging cleansing—if not purging—of his administration, allowing citizens to directly check on the status of all flood control projects in their localities. Those who colluded to pocket billions in flood control funds had no inkling that such a tightly guarded master list of public works projects would ever be revealed in its entirety, and by the President, no less.

The ICI should not delay in utilizing this website by gathering citizen-provided feedback from Malacañang and comparing it with the AFP-PNP inspection reports.

However, there is a clear legal weakness that affects the ICI. While it does have subpoena powers, it glaringly lacks contempt powers to compel the attendance of—or even punish—those who fail to comply with its subpoenas. The proposed Independent People’s Commission Act will fix this legal deficiency, and President Marcos finally pushed for its speedy passage in Congress on Tuesday. (see “Marcos to Congress: Prioritize anti-dynasty bill, 3 other measures,” News, 12/9/25).

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