State of emergency

We are in a state of emergency. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. should say so. In a proclamation.

The Constitution, laws and precedents allow or mandate the chief executive to make such a declaration. Now. Forthwith.

Republic Act 6826 of Dec. 20, 1989, signed by president Corazon Aquino, enables the president to declare a state of national emergency. On Feb. 24, 2005, in Proclamation 1017, president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency.

Under Section 17, Article XII, National Economy and Patrimony, “In times of national emergency, when the public interest so requires, the State may, during the emergency and under reasonable terms prescribed by it, temporarily take over or direct the operation of any privately owned public utility or business affected with public interest.”

Section 18: “The State may, in the interest of national welfare or defense, establish and operate vital industries and, upon payment of just compensation, transfer to public ownership utilities and other private enterprises to be operated by the Government.”

In certain sections of the government, the state has lost the ability to function morally, properly and efficiently for the good of the people.

This is especially true for the Department of Public Works and Highways, the largest Cabinet department in terms of budget, P1.2 trillion, and in terms of amounts plundered, over P1 trillion in three years or P50 billion per day.

Section 17 enables President Marcos Jr. to take over the assets and cash deposits of people like the spouses Pacifico and Cezarah Discaya, who grabbed P207 billion worth of DPWH contracts, or 21 percent of the P1 trillion stolen at DPWH by the syndicated flood control scam.

The President can redeploy much of the P207 billion to public goods like classrooms, health centers, medicines and mass scholarships for poor but brilliant young people.

Subject of seizure too are the P86 billion worth of DPWH contracts of Congressman Zaldy Co, now on the run after being exposed as the baddest of the baddest congressmen in terms of amounts plundered.

Under Section 6 of Article XII, “The use of property bears a social function.” You cannot steal from the government or do ghost projects and claim the profit you make is your private property (subject to due process) to be spent on luxury cars (like a gilded umbrella with free Rolls Royce), luxury bags and watches, luxury jets and luxury mansions.

Those trappings of extreme wealth can be seized, under a state of emergency. It is money of the people in the first place. Stolen money should be returned forthwith. Sorry, Senator Rodante Marcoleta, if you observe a different law.

At the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing Sept. 23, 2025, dismissed DPWH assistant district engineer Brice Ericson Hernandez related, sans remorse nor regret, how P1 billion of bribe was delivered to Congressman Zaldy Co – in 20 boxes with P50 million each, ferried on six or seven vans.

Dismissed Bulacan DPWH first engineering district office (DEO) chief Henry C. Alcantara narrated, while half crying, how his boss, resigned DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, systematically downloaded billions to his DEO through the years, for instance – P710 million in 2023, P3.3 billion in 2024, P2.55 billion in 2025. Of the amounts, 25 percent went the “proponent” or congressman who inserted the project item in the national budget (called NEP or National Expenditure Program or GAA or General Appropriations Act, after it is approved by Congress).

Hernandez disclosed he was instructed by Bernardo to give P355-million “extra” to SJE – Senator Jinggoy Estrada from the 2025 GAA. Senator Joel Villanueva felt entitled to a P1.5-billion “download,” he being the then Senate majority leader and member of the Commission on Appointments. Then DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan could raise “only” P600 million, but from unprogrammed appropriations (not from the GAA). The amount was “tulong ko (Bonoan) ito kung ano man future na plano niya (Joel).” Top DPWH officials treat people’s money as if it were their money to be dispensed for charity.

At Bulacan’s DEO alone, Zaldy Co got P8.75 billion worth of bribes from the P35 billion downloaded to him through the years. Noticing he has gotten a lot from the Bulacan first DEO, Co targeted the other DPWH districts for “downloading.”

The 2025 GAA alone has more than 700 pages and 15,000 project entries. Only a math genius or a malevolent mulcting mind can convert those entries into what Alcantara describes as “negosyo” or “in house” business.

The nation is seething with rage, Mr. President. You have awesome powers to deal with the unbridled corruption.

In the meantime, this could be big or simply tokenism. The Anti-Money Laundering Council has issued freeze orders on the bank accounts of DPWH engineers Alcantara and Hernandez, resigned DPWH USec Roberto Bernardo, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva and Congressman Zaldy Co.

The length of the freeze orders, assuming they are indeed enforced, is breathtakingly long – just 60 days.

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Why are hearings of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure private, behind closed doors? You investigate the biggest corruption scandal of the century using precisely the MO of the plunderers, like cutting deals behind closed doors?

In his first press con as ICI chair on Sept. 23, Justice Andy Reyes disclosed two things that sounded profound: 1) Honesty is the best policy. 2) No one is above the law.

Chinese state-owned companies are aggressive, increasingly dominating the bidding for ADB-funded projects. The Cavite-Bataan Interlink Bridge (CBIB), a 32.15-kilometer landmark project with a loan package of about $2.1 billion (P118 billion), is one of the largest local infrastructure projects.

For the Cavite landing segment, only one Filipino firm – DMCI – submitted a bid, competing against four state-owned Chinese firms. This raises serious concerns, not only about fair competition but also about national security and long-term economic impact.

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