As the cycle of flooding devastates communities across the Philippines, one truth becomes harder to ignore: the nation is drowning not only in stormwater but in the consequences of a governance system that too often allows public funds to disappear with little explanation and even less accountability.
Despite billions of pesos earmarked for flood control programs each year, many Filipinos see only rising waters and repeat disasters.
The question that must be asked loudly and persistently is where the money has gone.
Reports of “ghost projects,” padded budgets, and substandard flood control structures have become disturbingly routine.
Drainage systems that fail at the slightest downpour, river dredging projects that exist only in documents, and flood barriers that crumble prematurely point to a systemic misuse of taxpayer money.
Yet investigations frequently stall, responsibility becomes diffuse, and consequences, if any, are minimal.
The public is left with damaged homes, lost livelihoods, and the bitter sense that corruption is being quietly written off as the cost of doing business.
This culture of impunity undermines not only infrastructure but trust.
Filipinos contribute to the national treasury with the expectation that public funds will be used to safeguard their communities, not enrich a select few.
With climate change intensifying weather extremes, the margin for error and tolerance has vanished.
Each peso lost to corruption or inefficiency is a peso stolen from the nation’s future resilience.
If the government is sincere in its promise to protect its citizens, it must begin by enforcing full transparency in infrastructure spending.
Detailed reporting, independent audits, and swift penalties for misconduct are not optional. They are essential.
Floods may be inevitable in an archipelago prone to storms.
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