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Palace Cool To Calls For Abolishing DPWH Amid Corruption Row
Photo credit: DPWH
Malacañang isn’t jumping on the bandwagon to scrap the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), despite growing corruption allegations hounding the agency.
Instead of dismantling the department, the Palace says the better move is to root out the bad eggs and let honest public servants keep doing their jobs.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro clarified that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is not in favor of abolishing the DPWH — even after Senator Sherwin Gatchalian floated the idea amid reports of rigged bidding and collusion in billion-peso flood control projects.
“Ang departamento, hindi po lahat ng nangangasiwa at hindi po lahat ng taong gobyerno sa DPWH ay masasabi nating gumawa ng kamalian. May mga public servants pa rin po na tumutugon sa kanilang obligasyon,” Castro said.
She stressed that the administration’s focus is on weeding out erring officials, not tearing down an entire institution.
“Sa ngayon po ay hindi pa naiisip kung dapat itong i-abolish dahil ang dapat tanggalin dito ay ‘yung gumagawa ng mali,” she explained. “Sa tulong ni Secretary Vince Dizon, matatanggal kung sino man ang dapat matanggal sa ahensya.”
To curb systemic corruption in public works, President Marcos recently established the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) — a new body tasked to probe questionable infrastructure projects over the last decade, particularly those under the flood control program.
While calls for reform continue to echo, Malacañang’s message is clear: clean up, don’t close down.
Instead of dismantling the department, the Palace says the better move is to root out the bad eggs and let honest public servants keep doing their jobs.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro clarified that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is not in favor of abolishing the DPWH — even after Senator Sherwin Gatchalian floated the idea amid reports of rigged bidding and collusion in billion-peso flood control projects.
“Ang departamento, hindi po lahat ng nangangasiwa at hindi po lahat ng taong gobyerno sa DPWH ay masasabi nating gumawa ng kamalian. May mga public servants pa rin po na tumutugon sa kanilang obligasyon,” Castro said.
She stressed that the administration’s focus is on weeding out erring officials, not tearing down an entire institution.
“Sa ngayon po ay hindi pa naiisip kung dapat itong i-abolish dahil ang dapat tanggalin dito ay ‘yung gumagawa ng mali,” she explained. “Sa tulong ni Secretary Vince Dizon, matatanggal kung sino man ang dapat matanggal sa ahensya.”
To curb systemic corruption in public works, President Marcos recently established the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) — a new body tasked to probe questionable infrastructure projects over the last decade, particularly those under the flood control program.
While calls for reform continue to echo, Malacañang’s message is clear: clean up, don’t close down.
Oct 20, 2025
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