Edmat
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Wednesday, June 17, 2026
06172026 wed punta ilaya palaba
PNOY: THE BENCHMARK WE DIDN’T APPRECIATE UNTIL WE LOST IT
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May kasabihan na “We don’t truly appreciate what you have until it’s gone.”
At parang iyon mismo ang nangyari sa pamumuno ni Noynoy Aquino.
Noong panahon niya, sobrang daming reklamo. Mabagal daw. Kulang sa tapang. Walang charisma.
Pero ngayon, fifteen years later, history is asking a very uncomfortable question:
Kung ganoon pala siya kapangit bilang presidente, bakit parang mas maayos ang kalagayan natin noon?
Noong panahon ni PNoy, tinawag ang Pilipinas na “Rising Tiger of Asia.” Investors were coming. Credit ratings were improving. The economy was growing. Government debt was manageable. Institutions were gaining credibility.
Hindi perpekto ang bansa noon.
Pero may direksyon.
May compass.
At higit sa lahat, may malinaw na pagkakaiba ang politics at governance.
Noong tumaas ang presyo ng langis sa world market, hindi naghanap ng alibi. Hindi gumawa ng teleserye. Hindi nag-imbento ng kalabang multo.
Government focused on solutions.
Because competent governance understands a simple truth:
👉 Hindi mo kontrolado ang buong mundo, pero kontrolado mo kung paano mo poprotektahan ang sarili mong mamamayan.
At doon pumapasok ang pinakaimportanteng slogan ng kanyang administrasyon:
👉 “𝐊𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭, 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐩.”
Marami ang tumawa noon.
Pero habang lumilipas ang panahon, mas lumalalim ang kahulugan nito.
Because corruption is not just about stolen money.
Corruption is a hospital not built.
A classroom never opened.
A flood-control project that exists only on paper.
A farmer left without irrigation.
A patient forced to choose between life and bankruptcy.
Every peso stolen is a future stolen.
At marahil iyon ang pinakamalaking lesson na pilit ipinapaalala ng kasaysayan.
Ang tunay na laban sa kahirapan ay hindi lang ayuda - It is accountability.
Then came the years after.
Habang ang Vietnam ay naging manufacturing powerhouse at naging major beneficiary ng China Plus One Strategy, tayo naman ay parang nanood lang sa gilid habang dumadaan ang oportunidad.
A decade that could have built industries became a decade of endless political warfare.
A decade that could have strengthened institutions became a decade of weakened public trust.
A decade that should have focused on the future became a decade consumed by controversy.
At dito lalong lumilitaw ang nakakabinging contrast.
Isang third-hand na 2007 Porsche ang binili ni PNoy sa halagang ₱4.5 milyon gamit ang sarili niyang pera.
Walang confidential funds. Walang intelligence funds. Walang flood control budget. Walang ghost project. Walang kickback allegation.
Nagbenta siya ng sariling BMW. Nag-loan siya gamit ang sariling pangalan.
At nang umingay ang publiko, ibinenta pa niya ang sasakyan para matapos na ang kontrobersiya.
At tinawag natin ‘yon na “Porsche Presidency.”
Ngayon?
Allegations involving hundreds of millions in confidential funds.
Questions about unexplained wealth.
Ghost infrastructure projects.
Massive corruption controversies.
At minsan, parang ordinaryong balita na lang.
Parang nasanay na tayo.
Parang tumaas na ang tolerance natin sa dati’y ikinagagalit natin.
At ‘yon ang tunay na nakakatakot.
Because the biggest tragedy is not corruption itself.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.
Kapag hindi na tayo nagugulat, hindi dahil malinis na ang sistema.
Kundi dahil nasanay na tayo sa dumi.
And that may be the strongest argument in favor of PNoy’s legacy.
Hindi dahil perpekto siya.
Hindi dahil wala siyang pagkakamali.
Kundi dahil habang lumalayo tayo sa kanyang panahon, mas malinaw nating nakikita kung ano ang itsura ng isang gobyernong gumagana.
𝐀 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬.
𝐀 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚.
𝐀 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲.
At marahil iyon ang pinakamasakit na verdict ng kasaysayan:
𝐏𝐍𝐨𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭.
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞.
At kung ang dating minimum requirement ng isang Pangulo ay tinatrato na nating extraordinary achievement ngayon, baka hindi si PNoy ang nagbago.
Baka nasanay lang tayo sa mas mababang uri ng pamamahala.
⸻
#BenignoAquinoIII
#NoynoyAquino
#PNoy
#PNoyLegacy
#GoodGovernanceMatters
#KungWalangCorruptWalangMahirap
#AccountabilityFirst
#PoliticsVsGovernance
#RisingTigerOfAsia
#HistoryHasReceipts
#TindigPilipino
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Flood control
FLOOD CONTROL CORRUPTION: HUWAG TAYONG MAGPA-AMNESIA SA BAHA
Ang problema sa ibang Duterte allies, kapag corruption ang usapan, ang lakas sumigaw ng “imbestigahan!” Pero kapag ang trail bumalik sa 2016, biglang nagiging tahimik na parang basang resibo sa bulsa.
Para malinaw: hindi ito sinasabing convicted na ang lahat. This is not a final court judgment. This is a public accountability timeline. At sa timeline na ito, hindi puwedeng burahin ang Duterte years na parang typo lang sa kasaysayan.
• 2016: Nagsimula ang Duterte administration. Kasabay nito, lumakas ang infrastructure push, at ang flood control naging isa sa pinakamalalaking bahagi ng public works spending. Sa Pilipinas, kapag may malaking budget, dapat may malaking tanong din.
• 2016 onwards: Sarah Discaya herself reportedly said in a Senate hearing that while their DPWH bidding began earlier, their flood-control projects began around 2016 onwards. Hindi ito galing sa kalaban. Galing ito sa mismong timeline ng contractor. Awkward? Very. Conveniently forgotten? Also very.
• 2017–2018: Lumobo ang flood-control allocations. Dumami ang proyekto. Lumawak ang papel ng contractors. Kapag may biglang dami ng proyekto, may dalawang dapat bantayan: concrete at kickback. Sa Pilipinas, minsan mas matibay pa ang kickback kaysa semento.
• 2018–2019: Former House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. publicly exposed an alleged ₱332-billion flood-control issue, involving ₱213 billion in 2017–2018 allocations and another ₱119 billion proposed for 2019. Ang DBM noon ay pinamumunuan ni Benjamin Diokno. DBM denied facilitating any scam and said DPWH supplied project details, so hindi ito conviction. Pero hindi rin ito chismis. It was a major public budget controversy.
• 2019: DPWH employees reportedly testified that then DBM Undersecretary Amenah Pangandaman was involved in the reformatting or encoding process tied to the questioned ₱75-billion DPWH budget insertion. Again, DBM denied wrongdoing. Hindi ito proof of criminal liability. Pero public testimony ito, kaya hindi puwedeng tratuhin si Pangandaman na parang typo sa footnote. Budget work is not clerical decoration. Kapag ang pangalan mo lumitaw sa proseso ng questioned insertions, ang tanong sa iyo ay simple: ano ang alam mo, ano ang ginawa mo, sino ang nag-utos, sino ang nag-apruba, at bakit nakalusot?
• 2019: Diokno did not fall from power. He was later appointed Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Pangandaman also did not disappear from government power. She later rose even higher in the budget bureaucracy. Sa normal na mundo, kapag may malaking controversy, may accountability. Sa atin, minsan may appointment. Parang loyalty rewards card, pero taxpayer-funded.
• 2020: Duterte himself publicly acknowledged that corruption in DPWH was widespread and difficult to stop. In short, inamin na may anay sa bahay. Ang tanong: kung alam nang may anay, bakit hindi binaklas ang pugad? At kung ang budget officials ang gatekeepers ng pera, bakit parang laging DPWH lang ang may spotlight pero tahimik sa mga taong may hawak ng budget machinery?
• 2021–2022: The flood-control machine kept running. Budgets remained high. Projects continued. Contractors kept winning. The administration ended without a major public reckoning over the flood-control issues earlier raised during its term. Walang malaking paglilinis. Walang malinaw na dismantling. Parang nakita ang baha sa loob ng bahay, tapos ang ginawa ay bumili ng bagong mop habang bukas pa rin ang gripo.
• June 30, 2022: Andaya was found dead in his Naga residence with a gunshot wound to the head. Reports said police treated it as an apparent suicide incident, while his family asked for privacy. So no, huwag mag-imbento ng murder claim. Pero huwag din burahin na ang taong nag-ingay tungkol sa flood-control anomaly later died under tragic circumstances.
• Post-2022: Lumitaw ulit ang usapin ng ghost projects, substandard works, favored contractors, suspicious bidding patterns, at contractor empires. Hindi ito biglang isinilang sa ulan. May pinanggalingan ang baha. May nag-budget. May nag-approve. May nag-release. May nanalo. May yumaman. May nagpikit-mata.
Kaya kung seryoso tayo sa flood-control corruption, huwag tayong selective. Hindi puwedeng galit ka sa baha pero allergic ka sa timeline.
Sundan ang pera.
Sundan ang budget.
Sundan ang appointments.
Sundan ang contractors.
Sundan ang power.
At kapag ang trail bumalik sa Duterte administration, huwag biglang magkunwaring walang signal.
Hindi ito simpleng tanong kung sino ang pumirma sa isang kontrata. Ang mas malaking tanong: sino ang gumawa, nagpalaki, nagprotekta, o nagpabaya sa sistemang ito?
At hindi rin puwedeng puro contractor lang ang bida sa imbestigasyon. Contractors do not magically receive public money from the sky. May budget process. May release process. May programming. May approval chain. May mga taong nakaupo sa opisina, naka-aircon, naka-barong, at may pirma o impluwensiyang kayang gawing proyekto ang pera ng taumbayan.
Kaya kung tatanungin ang DPWH, tanungin din ang DBM. Kung tatanungin ang contractors, tanungin din ang budget officials. Kung tatanungin ang mga implementer, tanungin din ang mga nagbukas ng pinto sa pondo.
Kasi ang baha, bumababa.
Ang resibo, lumulutang.
At ang corruption, kahit gaano pa kalalim ibaon sa semento, umaalingasaw pa rin kapag nabasa.
SOURCES:
Department of Budget and Management. (2019). Statement of the Department of Budget and Management on flood control projects. https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/management-2/625-statement-of-the-department-of-budget-and-management-on-flood-control-projects
Department of Budget and Management. (2019). Secretary Diokno: Andaya allegations are unfounded. https://www.dbm.gov.ph/index.php/management-2/626-secretary-diokno-andaya-allegations-are-unfounded
Gascon, M. (2019, February 7). DBM exec tagged in P75B ‘insertions’ in DPWH budget. Philippine Daily Inquirer. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1082550/dbm-exec-tagged-in-p75b-insertions-in-dpwh-budget
Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2019, February 😎. DBM: Baseless to say usec behind DPWH budget “insertion”. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1083088/dbm-baseless-to-say-usec-behind-dpwh-budget-insertion
Parrocha, A. (2020, October 15). DPWH reeks of corruption: PRRD. Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1118589
Philippine News Agency. (2019, March 4). Benjamin Diokno is new BSP chief: Medialdea. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1063610
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. (n.d.). Governance of the bank: The governor. https://www.bsp.gov.ph/Pages/AboutTheBank/WhoWeAre/OrganizationAndGovernance/TheGovernor/PastGovernors.aspx
Department of Budget and Management. (n.d.). Amenah F. Pangandaman: Secretary, Department of Budget and Management [Profile]. https://www.dbm.gov.ph/images/caraga/SAFP-Profile.pdf
Ramos, M. (2025, September 1). ‘Nag-boomerang ang tanong’: Discaya says flood control deals started under Duterte. Politiko. https://politiko.com.ph/2025/09/01/nag-boomerang-ang-tanong-discaya-says-flood-control-deals-started-under-duterte/politiko-lokal/
Dizon, D. (2025, September 3). Discaya couple are PH’s ‘flood control king and queen,’ with P31-B in flood control projects—PCIJ. ABS-CBN News. https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/3/discaya-couple-are-ph-s-flood-control-king-and-queen-with-p31-b-in-flood-control-projects-pcij-0843
Gomez, J. (2025, September 8 ). Explosive testimony identifies legislators, officials in Philippine flood-control corruption inquiry. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/philippines-flood-control-corruption-allegations-61deba5e59f9bc5fac1800a660591c35
Lema, K. (2025, September 4). Philippine groups demand independent investigation of “excessive corruption” in government projects. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/philippine-groups-demand-independent-investigation-excessive-corruption-2025-09-04/
Gomez, J. (2025, November 13). Marcos vows jail for politicians and businesspeople in corruption scandal. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/flood-control-corruption-philippines-ferdinand-marcos-jr-3972804a08eb6b06a74c12a4b3ae8335





