PUBLIC Works Secretary Vince Dizon has requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and key private organizations to conduct thorough background checks on newly appointed officials in a major push for transparency and integrity.
The initiative follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to clean up and launch reforms within the agency.
In a press conference, Dizon said he has asked the NBI and the private sector to help check on the background of 14 DPWH executives from undersecretaries to assistant secretaries.
In his letter to NBI director Jaime Santiago, Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) chairperson Benedicta Baladad, Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) president Alfredo Panlilio, and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Enunina Mangio, Dizon asked for assistance in vetting the track records of the DPWH officials.
“The President has repeatedly said that the DPWH should be cleaned up and not defended. This is part of the reform and cleaning that we are doing, that our colleagues should be incorruptible and sincere in serving the Filipino people,” Dizon said.
Covered by the background checks were 14 DPWH executives from undersecretaries to assistant secretaries.
They included Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain, Undersecretary Arthur V. Bisnar, Undersecretary Ador G. Canlas, Undersecretary Nicasio A. Conti, Undersecretary Charles T. Calima, Undersecretary Samuel Rufino J. Turgano, Undersecretary Ricardo P. Bernabe III, OIC-Undersecretary Lara Marisse I. Esquibil, Assistant Secretary Nerie D. Bueno, Assistant Secretary Medmier G. Malig, Assistant Secretary Michael S. Villafranca, Assistant Secretary Constante A. Llanes, Jr., Assistant Secretary Michelle S. De Vera and Assistant Secretary Suzanne Marie Liwanag.
By involving both the NBI and respected private sector institutions, Dizon said the department aims to ensure that only qualified and upright officials will lead its reform efforts.
He emphasized that the vetting process is not only about compliance but about rebuilding public trust in one of the government’s most crucial infrastructure agencies.
The DPWH chief added that the integrity review would become a standard part of future appointments within the agency as part of institutional reforms aimed at promoting good governance and transparency.
