Big shake-up in the Philippines' public works: 250 officials get the boot

Manila: A big shakeup has been unleashed in the Philippines.

About 250 public works officials got the boot Monday when the new Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) chief, Vince Dizon, told them to resign, while the presidential palace has initiated an independent probe.

The DPWH, a major agency with billions of dollars in funding, handles infrastructure projects plagued by fraud, ghost projects, and shoddy flood control.

On his first day at work, Dizon demanded courtesy resignations from everyone — top brass to district engineers.

This hits over 250 officials, including 197 district engineering heads nationwide, according to local media.

“The President wants the DPWH cleaned up. This is just the start,” Dizon said at a Malacañang press briefing.

Dizon, who was transportation secretary for six months, expects officials to keep working while he decides who stays or goes.

Dizon replaced Manuel Bonoan, who quit Sunday after President Marcos pinned him with “command responsibility” for corruption tied to flood control projects worth billions.

Between 2011 and 2025, Filipino taxpayers funded ₱1.47 trillion ($25.7 billion) worth of flood control projects, as per official data. Just for 2025, the outlay amounts to ₱350 billion ($6.1 billion).

Marcos gave Dizon three big tasks:

After replacing top officials, Dizon plans to review all 20,000 DPWH employees.

“Despite the corruption, I believe there are still good, capable people here,” he said. “The President wants them in key roles.”

Every year, the Asian nation’s universities and colleges proudly churn out about 8,700 rookie civil engineers — fresh from five years of brain-busting classes, hands-on internships, and the ultimate boss-level challenge: the nationally-administered civil engineering board exams.

Think of it as the super-intense game mode before they earn their official engineering licence.

But somehow, across the archipelago, the country's roads and flood control systems seem stuck in a never-ending game of “almost done,” overseen by kindergarten kids using Bob The Builder gear.

And just when they’re barely finished, a little rain comes along and they start falling apart like a sandcastle at high tide.

One estimate shows that kickbacks for such projects go up to 50% or higher.

Worse, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was shocked to find out for himself that a number of these projects marked "completed" are non-existent.

Dizon promised no service disruptions during the revamp, which he expects to wrap up in 30 to 60 days.

Amid the rush to cover their tracks, accredited contractors are making a huge rush to complete funded infrastructure and projects everywhere in the country.

Dizon said he's also meeting former DPWH secretaries like Jose de Jesus, Rogelio Singson, and Sen. Mark Villar for advice.

“I’m a bit blind here. I don’t know the DPWH system,” he admitted.

The DPWH’s reputation is in the gutter due to corrupt practices involving officials, lawmakers, and contractors.

“Public trust is low. Can we blame them? No. But we start with accountability and cleaning house,” Dizon said.

Marcos also gave Dizon power to permanently blacklist contractors behind ghost or substandard projects.

No long investigations—just a lifetime ban, he warned.

Current rules only suspend blacklisted contractors for a year or two.

Dizon plans to blacklist firms like St. Timothy Construction Corp., SYMS Construction Trading, and 3K Rock Engineering for dodgy projects in Bulacan and Benguet.

To stop contractors from dodging bans by re-registering under new names, Dizon said the government needs to stay vigilant.

He’s also teaming up with the private sector, including San Miguel Corp.’s Ramon Ang, to tackle chronic flooding.

“This is a decades-old problem. The government can’t fix it alone,” he said.

Dizon and Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque are planning a major Philippine Contractors' Accreditation Board (PCAB) overhaul.

Dizon wants to revoke licenses of contractors linked to shady flood control projects.

PCAB’s board includes contractors, raising conflict-of-interest concerns from Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

One PCAB member insists the law allows board members to be active contractors.

The Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines, which oversees PCAB, met Aug. 29 to tackle allegations of irregularities in flood control projects and contractor licensing.

On Monday (September 1, 2025), President Marcos Jr said he will issue an executive order creating an independent commission to investigate the alleged corruption in the DPWH.

This independent probe body will also look into questionable insertions in the proposed 2026 budget.

“Unfortunately, the more we look, the more we find. Kahit sa 2026 budget, marami pa ring siningit (even in the 2026 budget, there are many such insertions),” Marcos said.