The Augean stables called DPWH

Cleaning the Augean stables metaphorically refers to a task that is extremely difficult, dirty or overwhelming, requiring significant effort to clean up or resolve. It originated from Greek mythology about tackling monumental tasks and the importance of creative problem-solving. “Acting” Secretary Vivencio “Vince” Dizon is facing this Augean task in cleaning up the graft-ridden bureaucracy at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Thus, Dizon has become the most hated official. To the corrupt and grafters, Dizon is the enemy they want out of their way. But Dizon’s firm resolve in fighting big-time grafters at the DPWH endears him to many Filipinos. He has become their champion for good governance.

He stood out in a crowd of people when I bumped into him last week at the EDSA Shangri-la in Mandaluyong City where we hold our weekly Tuesday Club gathering. Without the usual coterie of security escorts, Dizon was casually dressed when he walked in. He chatted a bit with us and apologized for lack of time in not being able to accept media interviews.

Told that he is the most respected among Marcos Cabinet members, Dizon’s reply was short: “It cannot be. There are many others.”

Initially, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) appointed Dizon as secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in February last year. In this first Cabinet shake-up in the middle of his six-year term, PBBM tapped Dizon for his vast work experience in supervising infrastructure projects in his past government posts, the last one of which was Presidential Adviser on Flagship Projects during the Duterte administration.

Dizon’s high spirited leadership immediately unlocked bottlenecks in slow-moving big-ticket infrastructure projects of the DOTr. This apparently impressed so much the President that a few months later, he moved Dizon to take over the DPWH.

He replaced erstwhile DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan. PBBM let go of Bonoan, who was directly implicated in alleged “ghost” flood control projects of the DPWH in the past three years, the biggest of which was the Congress-approved 2025 budget of the DPWH.

The 51-year-old Dizon knows he had no choice and embraced the task of cleaning up an entire agency drowning in corrupt transactions, inefficient systems and nonchalant behavior toward the waste of public funds. But like the good soldier that he is, Dizon knows how to follow orders and execute these with precision. Unlike an ordinary soldier, Dizon does not move like a robotic machine or one driven by artificial intelligence (AI). He is human and frail, too. But he simply cannot give in to these weaknesses.

Dizon swears he is not hurtling through the hurdles, including perhaps the countless obstacles that line the track, put there deliberately or not. But Dizon describes himself as deliberate. He shows his critics he is slow to anger but remains steady on course.

Fixing roads does not require rocket science, Dizon asserted in a recent podcast interview. “Other countries are able to do it, so why can’t the Philippines? What’s preventing us from achieving what others are able to?” he rhetorically asked.

In the same podcast interview, he revealed a key project that obviously became his pet peeve for being undone for, not years, but decades. It’s the rehabilitation of Maharlika Highway, a key link to many provinces for commuters and motorists. The last major rehabilitation program for Maharlika, built by PBBM’s namesake father the late president Ferdinand Sr., took place 50 years ago. It was a long overdue task that needed to be done now, not later, according to Dizon.

At the DPWH he saw what needed to be done at the outset. It required change from top to bottom. He also wanted the change to be permanent, something that cannot be undone by PBBM’s or his successor. It’s the kind of change that cannot be reversed.

He cited the lowering of construction material costs he instituted at the DPWH. “If my successor increases this, he would have to be held accountable. He’s dead,” Dizon warned.

Whether the monstrous challenge of cleaning up DPWH is turning him into a robot or AI machine that feels nothing and is focused only on achieving targets, Dizon begged to disagree. He is hurt, he is affected.

“I aged more than nine years,” Dizon rued, counting the months he had already spent at the DPWH.

When people enter government service, he noted, they become more careful. “They’re going to guard their reputations,” he cited. Many of his fellow Cabinet members are into social media. But Dizon preferred to be different. “That’s why I don’t have Facebook,” he disclosed.

Although he recently opened an Instagram account, Dizon admitted it’s mainly empty. No posts, no announcements. “Bottom line is: I really don’t care,” Dizon quipped and guffawed at his own revelation.

But a government role is not one similar to a crowd pleaser’s where everyone should be appeased, or happy. “Just do what you can do without any care,” Dizon pointed out. “Just use your time. Just do your job,” Dizon declared at the podcast. He does his work even when riding his car.

Dizon works out of the head office of the DPWH in Port Area, Manila, but he also takes his work to the project sites that he personally inspects, from Aparri to Jolo. Just last week, he flew to Basco, Batanes where he vowed to complete the reconstruction of the fire-damaged Basco Integrated School that has remained unrepaired after it was burned in 2024.

He was asked: is he the Superman who can save the world alone? A resounding “No” came as a reply.

On weekends, Dizon says he finds time to keep fit, like many others of his age or predicament. He rides his bicycle for 50 up to 100 kilometers as a form of exercise on weekends.

Dizon may not have the physique of Hercules, the hero of this Greek story, but Dizon is doing his own Augean task at the DPWH – with firm determination and honesty.