Sacrificial crocs

Perhaps, it was the dreariness of it all, days and days of incessant rain that slowly swallowed streets and homes, laying bare the complete inutility of so-called flood control measures.

Or perhaps, it was the public shaming. The viral memes that came in quick succession, clips and stills of presidential interviews boasting of public moolah spent on said flood control measures, juxtaposed against instant rivers of garbage and potential disease.

Whatever the impetus, it was time to produce sacrificial lambs. Although, when they came, they were hardly cute and innocent. The sacrifice turned out to be bloated government contractors, easily digesting billions of funds and multiple projects across the islands.

The State of the Nation address was a great occasion to begin the ceremonial gutting. Contractors were named, projects were identified, figures in astonishing amounts were revealed. And quickly, Hansel & Gretel newshounds followed the trail laid out for them, and more damning details emerged.

About how certain projects utilized subgrade materials. About how some recently completed projects are already falling into shambles. About how projects were began, but not completed. About how supposed projects weren’t even there to begin with. With names and coordinates, it’s become a veritable candy house feast.

The contractors that have become the most sensational news targets are, obviously, dispensable to the current administration. Either they supported political foes, or even better, ran for political positions themselves, perhaps in bids for greater clout (and contracts). Naming and shaming them now will teach those upstarts a few good lessons. The icing to the cake? Political opponents who fronted for these contractors or perhaps, profited from them, would start feeling the heat.

Which is why it’s good to ponder, what’s next? Will this deluge of detail result in criminal prosecutions? Is the administration really bent on good governance, or is this performative? Is this just a maneuver to get those difficult legislators and executive officials to toe the line, in preparation for the onslaught against the number one enemy? Natch, that’s the person leading in the presidential candidate surveys.

Is all this just a way for Marcos, Jr. to cleanse his family name just a tiny bit more? Will this be deemed his defining legacy? Not massive infrastructure projects per se, but demolition of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the infrastructure agency that’s been branded as the most corrupt, and hosting the most crocodiles, in the political swamp that is our government?

It’s not even enough for the head to be replaced. The department secretary is just there for a few years, and is replaced with each new administration that comes in. The new appointee has to make peace with the career officials really running the show. If not, trust the insiders to embroil their putative leader in a controversy cooked up from within.

Let’s not just blame the current appointee for persistent and pervasive corruption that’s crawled up the corridors of DPWH. Blame those who have been there for decades. Root them out. Conduct lifestyle checks. Review their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. Or better yet, just put them out to pasture. That would be a good cleansing start.

Our procurement guidelines might be good. Could be better, perhaps, but decent enough. It’s really the alligators inside DPWH that result in this country being inundated with instant floods and failing bridges, not to mention potholes galore whenever it rains. Those are the vermin that have to be sacrificed.

This is just the beginning. More stones are being turned, and as more congressional investigations are announced, more turds are being surfaced. But what’s crucial is, what is the ending?

Next up --a discussion on journalism ethics?