By Ignacio R. Bunye

Imagine waking up to flooded streets, missed work and rising prices — then learning that billions of pesos meant to prevent those very problems were stolen.

That’s not fiction. That’s the reality behind the P118.5 billion ghost flood control scandal now shaking our nation. These weren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet.

That money could have built real flood defenses, created up to 266,000 jobs, and helped our economy grow stronger.

Instead, it vanished — swallowed by corruption, mismanagement and greed.

What we lost

We lost more than infrastructure. We lost trust. We lost time. We lost opportunities for our children to walk to school safely, for farmers to protect their crops, for workers to get to their jobs without wading through waist-deep water.

And while we struggle to make ends meet, a handful of contractors — just 15 companies cornered P100 billion — got rich off our taxes.

That’s not just unfair. That’s plunder.

What needs to change

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has called this out. President Marcos Jr. has ordered investigations. But we, the people, must demand more than headlines.

We must demand transparency, accountability and justice. We need a budget that works for us — not for ghost projects. We need leaders who protect our money like it’s their own.

And we need systems that make it impossible for this to happen again.

What you can do

This scandal isn’t just a government problem. It’s a citizen’s problem. Because every peso stolen is a peso we paid. Speak up. Ask questions. Vote wisely. Support media and watchdogs that expose the truth.

And never let anyone tell you that your voice doesn’t matter. Because when ordinary Filipinos unite, we become extraordinary.

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totingbunye2000@gmail.com/WDJ