Do our government leaders know what they are doing? That is, other than enriching themselves at the expense of the national good?
What happened with the 2025 National Budget is Exhibit “A.”
BBM said infrastructure programs are a priority, especially the rail transport systems for Metro Manila. But the budget he eventually signed relegated our counterpart funding for these ODA-assisted projects to the unappropriated section.
Donor agencies like JICA have reason to wonder what’s wrong with us. They are faithfully funding projects we urgently need, using the taxes the Japanese people paid and we don’t seem grateful enough to do our part of the deal.
Baba Takashi, JICA’s Chief Representative, diplomatically wondered about that in a recent speech at the Philippine Development Forum. Your budget priorities are often not aligned with your Philippine Development Plan, he observed.
Of course. The priorities set in our budget by our legislators with the connivance of DBM and BBM himself are pork barrel projects. To create fiscal space for pork, counterpart funding for ODA-sponsored infrastructure projects were relegated to unprogrammed status. Bahala na kung may pera pa.
But pork projects with no feasibility studies, no detailed engineering and are not even part of the national development plan are assured of funding. The intention is just to collect the funding, ghost projects lang.
Mr. Baba said: “We find that while the Philippine development plan sets the strategic direction, its alignment with the national budget is not always strong. This has caused delays in projects supported by Official Development Assistance (ODA).”
Naku! Mahiya naman sana ang mga opisyales natin. Tinutulungan na nga tayo, binababoy pa natin yung tulong nila.
Mr. Baba also noted the poor coordination by core government agencies, leading to inefficiencies in project rollouts.
Cited are bureaucratic bottlenecks or procedures that delay results on the ground. These include lengthy and unresponsive processes for procurement, approval of contracts, payments, right-of-way acquisition, etc.
After projects were completed, Mr. Baba complained that “inadequate funding or lack of long-term planning for maintenance leads to rapid deterioration of facilities and services. This gap undermines the very investment made in infrastructure.”
In other words, sinasayang lang natin ang pera ng mga Japanese taxpayers. If we keep this up, we will lose ODA support. South Korea has announced a pause in assistance due to the massive corruption in public works projects.
“Let me emphasize that the infrastructure agenda is not just about building roads, bridges or facilities. It is about laying the foundation for inclusive growth and resilience through the combined commitment of government and development partners, backed by reforms and innovative approaches,” Baba said.
The United States said something similar. In the State Department’s 2025 assessment of the Philippine business climate, it said, “Various organizations, including the World Economic Forum, have cited corruption among the top problematic factors for doing business in the Philippines.”
Aside from massive corruption in flood control projects, Sen. Win Gatchalian reports overpriced farm-to-market road (FMR) projects in 2023 and 2024, worth a total of P10.3 billion. These are not known as farm-to-pocket roads for nothing.
Based on Gatchalian’s list, the ongoing concreting of the FMR in Barangay San Roque in Tacloban City, Leyte is considered the most overpriced project, at the cost of P348,432 per meter. The DPWH standard is only P15,000 per meter. Under the 2024 GAA, the project was allocated P100 million for a length of 6.7 kilometers.
Corruption’s impact on our economy is horrible. “Investors aren’t fleeing because of weak fundamentals; they’re fleeing because of weak integrity. It’s a stark reminder that corruption is a weapon of mass wealth destruction... When trust breaks down, capital dries up, and everyone – government, business and the public – pays the price,” SEC chairman Francis Lim said.
But there’s more.
Two flyovers in Iloilo Ungka Flyover (P680 million) and Aganan Flyover (P802 million) in Pavia, Iloilo have remained monuments to waste and possibly corruption. Both remain unusable: Ungka was closed to vehicular traffic after problems (foundations sinking, etc.). Aganan remains unfinished/unusable due to design/foundation flaws.
Both have the same general contractor, same design consultant, same defects, same need to stabilize the soil and similar amounts to rectify the design flaw at around P300 million each.
Worse, these flyovers are probably not needed. I have seen one of these flyovers in a recent visit to Iloilo and it is a shame.
And not to forget, the bridges in Cagayan Valley that recently collapsed. One was not yet officially open to the public and the other took years of delay to complete.
DPWH engineers on these projects should lose their professional license and be fired.
Then there is the sad state of our country’s rule of law, a major reason why investors choose other countries. The reputation of our justice system is the best that money can buy. In other words, as corrupt as everything else in our government.
The DOJ says the rule of law refers to measures to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before the law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law, separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency.
Almost anyone who has had experience with our judicial system has a sad story to tell. The tediousness of the process alone can test the patience of Job. The cost of litigation is why the poor end up in crowded jails for minor offenses while the corrupt politicians accused of plunder roam free.
Failure of law and order is a characteristic of a failed state. While we are not yet quite there, we soon will be at the rate our corrupt leaders are running our country.
So, here we are. Filipinos are running our government like hell. Manuel Quezon must be turning in his grave, never imagining it would get this bad.
Boo Chanco’s email is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on X @boochanco