Advertisement
The Philippines
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Philippines vows to tear down corrupt infrastructure ‘syndicate’ siphoning billions

A cabinet official has pledged to reform the Department of Public Works and Highways by ‘injecting new blood, removing the bad eggs’

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Protesters carry an effigy of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr during an anti-corruption rally in Manila last month. Photo: AFP
Bloomberg
The Philippines will move to dismantle the “syndicate” that pilfered public funds while ramping up infrastructure spending early next year to revive the economy, according to a key cabinet official.
The Department of Public Works and Highways will cleanse its ranks to ensure the corruption scandal it is currently embroiled in would not happen again, Secretary Vince Dizon said.

“This syndicate has been here for so long,” Dizon said in an interview on Tuesday. “That’s why it’s very hard to destroy this syndicate – it’s from top to bottom – but we have to do it.”

Advertisement

More than a dozen personnel at the department have been charged or arrested, while former senior agency officials have been recommended for case build-ups, he said. Investigations are ongoing but Dizon expects that criminal cases will be filed against a “minimum” of 100 agency officials.

The agency mandated to be the state’s main engineering arm will also boost government spending in the first half of 2026 by finishing roads, bridges and other government buildings, Dizon said.

Advertisement
It has been the focus of public scrutiny and anger since President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr exposed in July how corruption has thrived in the organisation tasked with projects to ease flooding in the typhoon-prone nation.

Philippine church group protests against flood-control corruption scandal

Philippine church group protests against flood-control corruption scandal
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x