By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter
PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday ordered lifestyle checks on government officials as the probe into questionable flood control projects continues.
“The President has ordered a lifestyle check on all officials amid the ongoing investigation into anomalous flood control projects,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told a news briefing in Filipino.
She said the review would begin with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which implements flood control programs nationwide.
Mr. Marcos has also ordered the continuous review of DPWH records tied to questionable flood control projects.
“The government’s investigation is also underway to identify those behind the projects that were supposed to help address the country’s widespread flooding problem,” Ms. Castro added, noting the government will file criminal charges regardless of political ties.
“There will definitely be lawsuits. Those who should be charged will be charged,” she noted.
Earlier this month, Mr. Marcos launched the sumbongsapangulo.ph platform for Filipinos to report irregularities in flood mitigation projects in their areas.
The President has so far visited 11 areas that were reported on the website, including a ghost project worth P55 million in Bulacan province.
As of Wednesday, Ms. Castro said the website has received 9,020 reports.
Department heads will spearhead the lifestyle checks, although Ms. Castro said the Ombudsman and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) may also initiate such reviews motu proprio.
“In every agency, a lifestyle check can be conducted. The Ombudsman may initiate it, and the BIR may carry out inspections and lifestyle checks within their jurisdiction,” she said.
Ms. Castro assured the review will be nonpartisan and independent, despite allegations of corruption within certain departments.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, Transportation Secretary Vivencio “Vince” B. Dizon, and Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda expressed willingness to undergo a lifestyle check.
“We are open and we welcome the lifestyle checks,” Ms. Pangandaman told reporters at a separate event.
Mr. Aguda said they will cooperate with the lifestyle checks. “Today with social media, you can’t hide anything anymore,” he added.
“That’s the right thing to do. For the entire government. I think it’s very important,” Mr. Dizon said.
Despite the alleged corruption within DPWH’s ranks and calls for a new chief, Ms. Castro said the President still has full confidence in Public Works Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan.
In his 4th State of the Nation Address on July 28, Mr. Marcos ordered a sweeping probe into anomalous flood control projects as parts of the country experienced heavy flooding during bad weather.
He directed the DPWH to submit a complete list of projects from the past three years, stressing that those riddled with irregularities must face a full investigation.
University of Makati political science professor Ederson DT. Tapia said lifestyle checks in the Philippines are often symbolic rather than systemic.
While Mr. Marcos’ directive signals political will, the real test is whether it will lead to prosecutions and reforms or remain mere optics, he added.
“What’s at stake is not just billions lost, but the lives and welfare those funds could have protected. Every peso lost to anomalous flood control projects is a classroom not built, a hospital left unfunded, or a community still exposed to floods,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“That’s the true cost of corruption, it robs both the present and the future,” Mr. Tapia added.
Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University, said lifestyle checks should only be preliminary tools and not the ultimate form of investigation.
“Lifestyle checks are supposed to be seen as preliminary; they cannot be the end-all and be-all of the investigation,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“It is within the right of the government and courts to demand the disclosure of SALNs (Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth) the same way we do to government officials under investigation (or even the extreme of a Sandiganbayan case and impeachment).”
Mr. Juliano said government officials should maintain standards, otherwise these efforts might risk being mere “optics.”
On flood control projects, he noted that those funded or assisted by foreign partners often undergo stricter oversight, while local government unit-led projects without external or civil society monitoring are more prone to anomalies.
He stressed that flood mitigation initiatives must be based on feasibility studies and climate change considerations to avoid becoming wasteful “band-aid” solutions driven by propaganda or political gain.
