Dizon hands Lopez ‘next’ DPWH corruption cases

MANILA, Philippines — Outgoing Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday handed his successor, Giovanni “Banoy” Lopez, a thick pile of documents naming more Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) personnel implicated in alleged anomalies, telling him it was now his turn to remove the agency’s “rotten apples.”

Dizon said the purge must continue under the new leadership, with more than 80 officials and employees already removed over corruption-related issues during his tenure and the number potentially nearly doubling as Lopez reviews the new list.

“I’ll leave those in your hands—please remove them over the next few weeks. Just review these. These are the next. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it has to be; we need to get rid of the rotten apples and protect the good ones,” Dizon said during the DPWH turnover ceremony, a day after President Marcos ordered him to return to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and appointed Lopez to head the public works department.

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Dizon expressed confidence that the leadership change would not slow the cleanup, saying Lopez was stricter and more attentive to discrepancies because of his background as a certified public accountant.

“If they think that [Lopez] is going to be easier or more lenient than me, well, I think everyone is in for a big surprise—because I think the opposite is true; he is actually stricter than I am,” Dizon said.

READ: Dizon-Lopez swap won’t affect DOTr, DPWH budgets, says Ejercito

“I think you will be in for a big, big surprise if you think that Sec. Banoy is not going to even doubling down on the reforms that we have done here,” he added.

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Lopez vowed to continue and strengthen the reforms, saying he had no professional ties or obligations to anyone in the department that could prevent him from making difficult decisions.

“I have no political capital, so when I say that something is wrong, unlawful, or not in accordance with the processes, it is easier for me to say ‘no’—regardless of who might be pressuring me to say that it must be done,” Lopez said.

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He said the challenge was to make the reforms permanent by changing the workplace culture and ensuring that budget preparation, procurement and project implementation followed the rules.

“The cultural change I am referring to is not just for the secretary; it is even more important for the people—the staff and employees—who have long been working at the DPWH. Let us work together to restore the public’s trust in the DPWH; that is what we are going to do,” Lopez said.

Look closely at Bulacan

“The reforms are already in place; what needs to be done now is to ensure that the process is carried out correctly, day in and day out,” he added.

Dizon specifically urged Lopez to closely monitor flood control and other infrastructure projects in Bulacan, where investigations have uncovered alleged irregularities and residents continue to suffer from flooding despite government spending.

“Sec. Banoy, please pay very, very close attention to Bulacan, because the situation there is truly pitiful. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve visited Bulacan,” Dizon said.

He singled out Hagonoy, which he described as an epicenter of flood control corruption, saying residents continued to experience prolonged flooding even after relatively light rainfall.

Dizon said he had found numerous unfinished flood control projects in the province, including projects reported as completed despite being fully funded.

The controversy implicated officials of the DPWH’s First District Engineering Office, including former district engineer Henry Alcantara, who admitted to certifying the completion of ghost projects and receiving about P300 million in kickbacks from flood control projects in Bulacan. Alcantara was dismissed and has since become a state witness in the corruption investigation at the Sandiganbayan.

Dizon expressed confidence in Kenneth Fernando, who replaced Alcantara, saying stalled and unfinished projects in the district had begun moving forward.

He also cited the recent dismissal of 10 DPWH officials and personnel amid investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control projects in Davao City and alleged extortion of contractors in Cebu City.

Dizon acknowledged that the cleanup remained unfinished despite the reforms already introduced.

“I’m not going to tell you right now that this is going to be easy, it’s not going to be easy. It’s a huge department. While the reforms are in place, they are still unfinished,” he said.

LTO still needs fixing

He dismissed concerns that the leadership change would delay the reforms, saying Lopez’s understanding of systems could accelerate the process.

“It will be faster, [Lopez] is better than me. He understands systems,” Dizon said.

Back at the DOTr, Dizon said overhauling the Land Transportation Office (LTO) would be a top priority, following complaints about long queues, fixers and delays in public transactions.

“One of my priorities will be the LTO. We’re going to fix that,” Dizon said. “That is one of the things our President emphasized to me most strongly. We must fix the LTO once and for all.”

Mr. Marcos directed Dizon to shorten queues, eliminate fixers and fast-track mass transportation projects to ease the daily commute.

The Anti-Red Tape Authority recorded 152 complaints against the LTO in the first quarter, making it the most complained about government agency during the period. Of these, 132 had been resolved.

Dizon said the President had instructed him and Lopez to “disrupt the rotten system and make the reforms last” in their respective departments.

He said he will also oversee major transport infrastructure projects, but Lopez warned that inadequate funding could delay implementation regardless of management efforts.

The proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program, for instance, has no allocation for the Edsa Busway, despite the DOTr’s original request for P1.756 billion.

“Regardless of how you carry out implementation, if there is no funding—or if the funding is insufficient—our major projects will inevitably be delayed,” Lopez said.

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Among the major projects are the Metro Rail Transit Line 7, with 12 stations targeted to open by June 2027, and the planned privatization of railway operations, including the P103.6-billion MRT 3 operations and maintenance contract targeted for bidding by mid-2027. —With a report from Logan Kal-El M. Zapanta