The plunderers in flood control and other public infrastructure projects did not commit victimless crimes. Some people think that it is not so bad because no person was hurt, as in being murdered or injured.
Corruption is a way of life in our country. The kalakaran, as it is called, had been accepted for generations. Sumusunod lang naman daw sila sa nakagawian na.
But that’s a wrong and perverted view. Plundering the Treasury is not a victimless crime. We are all victims, all Filipinos have been victimized. The label “People of the Philippines vs Mr. Plunderer Congressman” is most appropriate in the cases we are hoping to see being tried soon.
Even now, the damage to the economy is palpable. Analysts here and abroad are saying this corruption scandal will result in a cut in our economy’s growth.
It is easy to see why. Resources needed for the economy’s growth have been waylaid to private pockets. It has also produced a political turmoil that makes the country seem too unstable for investors to consider seriously.
It seems capital flight has started, and not only by foreigners but also by locals. The drop to P59-to-the-dollar exchange rate seems to be a harbinger of things to come.
CEIC Data, a company providing global economic, financial and industry data, observed that “the Philippine peso is increasingly out of sync with its ASEAN peers… It diverged from its usual alignment with the Malaysian ringgit, the Thai baht and the Singapore dollar.
“This underperformance reflects growing concerns over the Philippines’ external position. There is growing evidence that the corruption scandal is having a material impact on the country’s economy and growth prospects.”
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told the Senate finance committee that corruption has caused up to P118.5 billion in economic losses since 2023.
Recto said “anecdotal accounts” put the extent of corruption in the DPWH flood control projects at around 25 percent to 70 percent of the total project cost. These could have translated to 95,000 to 266,000 jobs for Filipinos, Recto said.
Philippine gross domestic product grew by 5.5 percent in 2023 and 5.7 percent in 2024. “Maybe if that money was spent better, we could have grown by six percent,” Recto told reporters.
In a broader sense, the public works corruption scandal signals weaknesses in governance, transparency and oversight. And all of those are important determinants for long-term economic growth, investment climate and efficient public spending.
Corruption in the implementation of public works projects is costing the government large sums of money, forcing the Treasury to borrow more. It also reduces effective infrastructure investment, weakening resilience to natural disasters (which itself has economic costs).
So, what the senators and congressmen did, in conspiracy with DPWH district engineers and contractors, are clearly crimes against the people of the Philippines. There is no other way of looking at it.
“Domestic political uncertainty could affect investment,” Fitch Ratings said in a peer credit analysis released last Monday.
The BSP observed: “The outlook for domestic economic growth has weakened. This outlook reflects in part the impact on business confidence of governance concerns about public infrastructure spending.”
Also, the BSP noted that the peso’s decline partly reflects “market concerns over a potential moderation in economic growth due in part to the infrastructure-spending controversy.”
In a speech/announcement reported by BusinessWorld, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. was quoted:
“Governance concerns on public infrastructure spending have weighed on business sentiment. … We need a credible resolution to this issue.”
Infrastructure investment might slow, which tends to dampen growth (especially in an economy where infrastructure has a large multiplier). There is a large body of research showing corruption hinders growth, investment and productivity.
Analysts from New York-based GlobalSource Partners said massive corruption in flood control projects prevents the country from growing over six percent.
“These funds — siphoned through fraudulent contracts and padded budgets — could have built schools, improved hospitals and created up to 266,000 jobs. The resulting drag on productivity meant economic growth of 5.5 to 5.7 percent, when the economy could have expanded closer to over six percent.
“The moral indictment is clear: corruption kills growth, weakens resilience and erodes trust. When infrastructure becomes a source of private enrichment rather than public service, the entire development agenda collapses,” Global Source analysts added.
For a developing country like the Philippines, they said good governance is an “economic necessity,” not a “moral luxury.”
“Every peso lost to corruption is a peso withheld from productive investment. When public works are marred by inefficiency and fraud, they not only waste resources but also weaken the very foundations of inclusive growth: connectivity, productivity and resilience,” they said.
The Ombudsman must deliver quickly on its obligation to make corrupt legislators, DPWH engineers and contractors accountable. Not only must these people go to jail, they must return what they have stolen.
Accused plunderers must be subjected to an incisive examination of their finances, tax records, lifestyle checks. Those shown to have unexplained wealth should then have to prove their innocence because their guilt should be presumed. Their assets must be immediately forfeited in favor of the Treasury.
None of these things could have happened without the involvement of high officials. The Ombudsman must go beyond the district engineers and throw some high-ranking congressmen and senators in jail as well. Given the adverse impact on all Filipinos of what the culprits did, they ought to be shot as traitors.
The success or failure of BBM’s tenure hangs in the balance. The People of the Philippines must prevail in all the corruption cases to be filed. The Sandiganbayan must play the role it was designed for and not be too generous to the plunderers, as it seems to have been so far.
Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco