Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said on Saturday that a large number of employees in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will lose their jobs as the government pushes ahead with its investigation into irregular flood control projects across the country.
“Unang-una, hindi baka maraming mawawala — marami talaga ang mawawala dito,” Dizon told reporters, emphasizing that the purge will affect personnel “from top to bottom.” He added that the agency will eventually need to find ways to replace those dismissed.
Dizon explained that the changes are part of a sweeping reform effort to restore integrity within the DPWH. “At the rate we are going,” he said, the restructuring is expected to be extensive and necessary to rebuild public trust.
He shared that he is guided by the advice of former public works secretaries Rogelio “Babes” Singson and Ping de Jesus, who both urged that reform “must start from within.” However, Dizon added that outside expertise would also play a key role. “Pero we also need to seek external help. Like getting external advisers sa mga engineering companies na respetado sa buong bansa. Importante din yun,” he said.
In late September, Dizon issued show-cause orders against several regional directors and district engineers accused of involvement in substandard infrastructure projects, tampering with evidence, and maintaining lifestyles that appeared to exceed their declared incomes. The alleged irregularities were discovered during personal inspections by Dizon and by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) in recent months.
Earlier, Dizon personally filed graft, corruption, and malversation complaints against officials of the Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office, including Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, along with 18 other employees. The officials were accused of releasing payments for unfinished or nonexistent projects and violating the Government Procurement Act.
Dizon had previously vowed to dismantle what he described as “multi-billion” syndicates operating within the department, marking one of the most aggressive internal crackdowns in DPWH’s history.
