Orders top-to-bottom mass resignation of Public Works officials
PUBLIC Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Monday began an agency-wide purge as he ordered the mass resignation of officials across the DPWH.
Dizon said the directive covers undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, division heads, regional directors, and district engineers.
He also warned that contractors found to be involved in ghost projects will be blacklisted for life.
“These ghost projects and substandard projects, I have also cleared it with our President that the contractors of these ghost projects, first of all, I will impose a lifetime blacklisting, ban, immediately,” he said.
“When a project of a contractor is (a) ghost (project) or proven to be substandard, there is no more process, no more investigation – that contractor is automatically blacklisted for life,” Dizon added.
Dizon took his oath as the new DPWH chief yesterday, a day after Malacanang announced that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has accepted the resignation of Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
“It was Sec. Bonoan who said that basically, he took responsibility because all of these things happened, all of these problems happened under his watch. So, under the principle of command responsibility, he felt that he should leave his post,” the President said in an ambush interview in Pasay City yesterday.
Dizon recalled joining the President in recent inspections in Bulacan and Baguio where the President expressed anger over incomplete and poorly-built flood control projects.
In Calumpit, Bulacan, residents told President Marcos that flooding has become part of their daily lives—a scene that Dizon said fueled the chief executive’s frustration.
“We need to fix this. I cannot accept, and neither can our President, that we will just sit and watch on TV while our countrymen suffer every day,” Dizon said. “It is unacceptable.”
Dizon also vowed a revamp of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry in light of accusations that numerous contractors are misrepresenting their qualifications as triple A or quadruple contractors, despite having assets totaling only P500 million
He said the administration will pursue a “massive, unprecedented” effort to address chronic flooding in Metro Manila and other provinces, working with local governments and the private sector.
“This cannot be solved overnight. It took decades of neglect and corruption, but we have to start now,” Dizon said.
Business leaders expressed support for Dizon as the new head of the DPWH.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Enunina Mangio highlighted Dizon’s extensive track record in public service.
“Secretary Dizon has a solid track record. As president and CEO of the BCDA and as the implementing lead for the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program, he demonstrated a strong capacity for driving large-scale, complex infrastructure projects from conception to completion,” Mangio said.
“We are optimistic that he will bring to the DPWH the same level of enthusiasm as he had at the DOTr, and a strong inclination toward transparency and public-private partnership models that marked his leadership at the BCDA,” she added.
Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) chairman Beth Lee also underscored Dizon’s stellar performance at the DOTr.
She said his results-driven leadership will be crucial in “restoring integrity and accountability” at DPWH, especially amid recent controversies surrounding flood control projects.
Lawmakers have likewise backed Dizon’s appointment.
“The hands-on approach and fresh perspective Dizon brings will serve him well in confronting the deeply entrenched problems that have long plagued the DPWH,” said Senate President Francis Escudero.
“Rooting out corruption is just the first step, because equally important is ensuring that all DPWH projects serve their purpose and truly improve the lives of our countrymen,” he added.
Senator Panfilo Lacson called the move both a “hard decision and a good choice,” citing Dizon’s tireless work ethic during his stint addressing transport sector problems.
“I have watched and followed Vince Dizon’s indefatigable, almost daily effort to solve the numerous problems that beset the transportation sector,” he said.
Senator Erwin Tulfo pointed to Dizon’s efficiency during his first six months leading the DOTr and said it is the kind of leadership the country needs today.
“With so much information surfacing about irregularities in flood control projects, we need a secretary who is aggressive and does not ignore the evidence. What is required is immediate action, not excuses,” he said.
House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan said: “The change in DPWH leadership opens the door not only to reorganize the agency, but also to reboot and reinvent the government’s entire flood control program.”
Rep. Mark Anthony Santos of Las Piñas said Dizon’s appointment comes at a critical time when the country needs efficient, transparent, and people-centered infrastructure development.
“Secretary Dizon’s track record of professionalism and dedication assures us that he will steer the DPWH towards greater accountability and improved service delivery. The people of Las Piñas, and the entire nation, expect no less than an agency that ensures every peso spent on public works truly benefits our communities,” Santos said.
Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña said Dizon’s leadership will bring lasting reform in the DPWH where corruption is “systemic and widespread–involving contractors, district engineers, and fellow lawmakers.”
“This is just a necessary first step in the long road ahead to accountability and fighting corruption,” Cendaña said.
