𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮

Pampanga, our proud heartland, drowns not just in floodwaters but in a deluge of deceit. The stench of corruption in our flood control projects has grown so rank it could choke the Pasig River itself.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., I know you’re reading this, and I’m here to shake you awake with the cold, hard truth.

The billions poured into flood control, ₱545 billion since 2022, are vanishing into the pockets of a select few, leaving our people wading through misery.

It’s time to stop the bleeding, and I propose a solution as ruthless as it is necessary: a relentless purge of the corrupt, inspired by the iron-fisted pragmatism of Machiavelli, Mao Zedong, and the audacious problem-solving of Elon Musk, and in-your-face bravado of Donald Trump.

Let’s cut to the bone with facts. Since 2022, your administration has overseen 9,885 flood control projects nationwide, costing ₱545.64 billion. Yet, Pampanga, Bulacan, and Metro Manila remain submerged after every typhoon. Why? Because 20% of that budget, ₱100 billion, went to just 15 contractors, some linked to political dynasties. Wawao Builders alone got ₱9 billion, with ₱5.9 billion for Bulacan projects, many of which are “ghost projects” existing only on paper.

In Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Malolos, divers found thin concrete layers and structural gaps, shoddy work doomed to fail. Senator Panfilo Lacson estimates half of the ₱2 trillion spent on flood control over 15 years has been siphoned off, with only 40% reaching actual construction. The Commission on Audit flagged Bulacan for devouring 45% of Central Luzon’s ₱548 billion flood control budget since 2022, yet residents still swim to their mailboxes. In Barangay Frances, a ₱77.1-million project was “completed” with substandard materials and incomplete desilting. In Oriental Mindoro, Governor Humerlito Dolor reported dikes collapsing weeks after completion, with ₱39 billion misused.

This isn’t incompetence; it’s downright theft!

Contractors like AOCC dodge Senate hearings, sending lawyers or excuses, while senators like Bato dela Rosa and Jinggoy Estrada demand subpoenas. The racket is clear: a cabal of contractors and complicit officials, some allegedly owning firms themselves, rig bids, lease licenses to unqualified builders, and pocket kickbacks. Senator Raffy Tulfo claims only 13.5% of project funds reach actual construction; the rest buys helicopters and mansions.

Machiavelli taught us that power must be wielded with cunning and fear to maintain order. Mao Zedong crushed corruption with unrelenting campaigns, rooting out those who betrayed the people. Musk and Trump disrupt broken systems with a relentless focus on results.

Mr. President, you’ve vowed to prosecute the guilty, but words won’t drain the floodwaters. You’ve dismissed one DPWH undersecretary, Roberto R. Bernardo, and vetoed ₱16.7 billion in redundant projects. It’s a start, but a drop in the bucket.

Here’s what you must do, with the ferocity of a leader who loves his people:

1. Seize Control of the DPWH: Suspend the entire leadership of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Replace them with a handpicked task force answerable only to you, led by incorruptible technocrats, think Musk’s SpaceX engineers, not bureaucrats with Rolexes. This task force must audit every project, down to the last peso, and publish findings in real-time on a public dashboard, as Science Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. suggested with geographic mapping. Transparency is your sword; wield it.
2. Execute a Purge: Identify the 15 contractors cornering ₱100 billion and freeze their assets pending investigation. No bail, no delays. If guilty, strip their licenses, ban them from public contracts, and seize their ill-gotten gains. Mao didn’t tolerate traitors to the state; neither should you. Publicly shame them, Trump’s style, on national TV, naming names and showing their crumbling projects. Let fear deter the next crook.
3. Centralize Procurement: End the decentralized chaos where local officials and contractors collude. Create a single, ironclad procurement board under your direct oversight. Every contract must pass a public bidding process streamed live, with independent auditors from the private sector. No more “license renting” or congressional insertions; Lacson’s right, these are the cancer.
4. Death Penalty for Corruption: Push for emergency legislation to make large-scale graft in disaster-related projects a capital offense. The Philippines loses billions annually to floods, with lives and livelihoods washed away. Corruption here isn’t just theft; it’s murder. A Machiavellian prince would make an example of the worst offenders to restore faith in the state.
5. Mobilize the Masses: Launch a “Sumbong sa Pangulo” app, not just a website, where citizens can upload photos and videos of shoddy projects in real-time. Empower Pampangueños to be your eyes and ears, as Mao mobilized the masses for revolution. Reward whistleblowers with a cut of recovered funds. This is Musk’s crowd-sourcing genius meets Mao’s people’s campaign.

Mr. President, you’ve seen the floods yourself, and the public works projects that crumble like polvoron. You called out the “palpak” projects and vowed justice. But justice delayed is justice drowned. The Senate’s “Philippines Under Water” probe is a start, but it risks becoming a circus unless you act decisively. Central Luzon’s people, your people, deserve better than to live in a swamp of corruption. Be the prince Machiavelli envisioned: feared, respected, and relentless. Crush the corrupt, build the dikes, and let the floods of justice wash away the filth.

This column demands action, not promises. Pampanga is watching, Bulacan is watching, Mr. President. The nation is watching.

Act with the resolve we need, or the waters will keep rising.