Documents to Dust, Dreams to Mud

When Thieves Burn Truth and Sink Our Future

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — September 23, 2025

The Great Flood Fraud Extravaganza

Step right up to the grand Philippine governance circus, a three-ring spectacle of greed where clowns in barong juggle billions while 12-year-old Ana shivers under a mango tree, her home swept away by floods that should have been stopped. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) isn’t building flood control; it’s erecting a shrine to thievery, with PHP 1.089 trillion in climate funds, as Greenpeace howls, vanishing into the abyss of corruption. That’s not just money—it’s lives, Ana’s, her neighbors’, and millions more, drowned by bandits who call themselves “public servants.” The stakes? A nation choking on mud and lies, while the audience—us—wades through the wreckage.

The ICI: Toothless Showboat or Crook’s Best Friend?

Cue the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), striding onto the stage like a circus ringmaster promising to tame the chaos. Condemning “widespread document destruction” with all the gravitas of a retired Supreme Court justice, it’s a performance to behold. But let’s not applaud yet. No contempt powers, no subpoena teeth—just a lot of noise and a fancy letterhead. Is this a genuine stab at justice or a political magician’s trick to distract us while the real crooks slip away? When lawmakers double as contractors, how can this Marcos Jr.-created commission not be tainted by the same rot? The public’s skepticism isn’t just warranted; it’s a survival instinct. Past probes have been reruns of the same tired teleserye, and the ICI’s script looks painfully familiar. So, ICI, tell us: how are you not just another act in this circus of futility?

The Shredding Shenanigans: A Boneheaded Cover-Up Bonanza

Now, let’s gawk at the DPWH’s document-shredding fiesta—a panic-fueled, brain-dead attempt to bury the truth in a shredder’s confetti. This isn’t just tampering; it’s a neon billboard screaming, “We’re guilty as sin!” These “Bicam Bandits” thought they could torch the evidence of their P13.8 billion flood fund heist and waltz away scot-free. Newsflash, morons: the Revised Penal Code’s Article 171 (falsification) and Article 226 (destruction of documents) have your names etched in stone, with penalties up to prisión mayor (6-12 years) and permanent disqualification from public office. Oh, and thanks to Republic Act No. 10910, the graft clock ticks for 20 years—you can’t just hide in your flood-proof mansions until it blows over. This is obstruction of justice so blatant it’s practically a performance art piece titled “Panic of the Guilty.” Why shred? To shield contractors, hide kickbacks, and bury ghost projects that never saw a shovel. Every destroyed page is a middle finger to every flood victim wondering why the dikes never came.

Slaying the Corruption Hydra: Starve the Beast or Burn It Down

Enough with the Band-Aid commissions and crocodile tears. The root of this rot is the system itself—congressional insertions, the original sin of Philippine budgets, as Senator Lacson once spat. Ban these pork barrel scams outright. No more “local projects” slipped into the budget by lawmakers who treat public funds like their personal piggy banks. Transparency? Fine, but posting PDFs online while the Climate Criminals sip champagne in their villas isn’t enough. Jail them—under Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), under plunder laws, under anything that sticks. Digitize every contract with tamper-proof blockchain—because it’s harder to burn a server than a filing cabinet. Protect whistleblowers like national treasures, not rats to be silenced, under Republic Act No. 6981. The corruption hydra thrives because we feed it our taxes, our trust, our silence. Starve it. Lock it up. Let Ana and her mango tree see a dry day, for once.

Barok’s Final Roar

This isn’t just a scandal; it’s a betrayal carved in the mud of every flooded barangay. The ICI can wave its wand, but until we gut the system that spawns these bandits, we’re all just spectators in their circus, choking on their lies. Kweba natin ‘to. Let’s torch the big top and build something that doesn’t drown the poor.