For once, the flood control scandal might not end in the usual congressional circus. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has announced he will issue an executive order creating an independent commission to dig deep into the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects riddled with corruption. “The independent commission will be the investigative arm so that they will continue to investigate whatever information is received,” the President said.
This is not another Senate Blue Ribbon show where lawmakers shout at contractors and then quietly tiptoe around their fellow legislators. In the last hearing, senators zeroed in on the bloated contracts and shady contractors. But did anyone dare point to the lawmakers who decide where these projects go and who benefits? Of course not. Inside Congress, everyone knows the rule: Blame the pawns, never the players who control the board.
That is why the creation of an independent commission matters. For once, the investigation will not be trapped in the echo chamber of Congress, where senators and congressmen act as both accusers and protectors. The public, long weary of seeing hearings that end with nothing but press releases, deserves a process not chained to political deals.
The President himself was candid: “The more we look, the more we find. Kahit sa 2026 budget, marami pa ring siningit. So, talagang it really needs to be cleaned out properly.” That admission alone is proof that the rot runs deep. What gives this commission its promise is not only the chance to expose the contractors who padded contracts, but also to map the bigger web of influence behind them.
Still, one crucial detail remains unanswered – who will lead this body. If this is to be more than window dressing, it cannot be another panel filled with political appointees. Many suggest and argue it should be headed by someone credible, like former PNP chief Nic Torre, and backed by members from real watchdog sectors like journalists from PCIJ, the academe, former justices, youth leaders, even the Church. Only then can it stand as a genuine fact-finding body, not just another government whitewash.
We shouldn’t expect senators or congressmen to investigate themselves in this fiasco, lalo na kung sila-sila lang din ang nag-iimbestiga. For ordinary Filipinos who keep wading through floods while billions of pesos sink in ghost projects, this is a rare opening. At least this time, the investigation won’t be guarded by the very politicians whose hands are in the cookie jar.
