Billion-verse

It was Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla who coined the term "sixty billion-verse" during his recent visit to Cebu. He was referring to the P60 billion spent by the government in the span of six years for different flood control projects. In their initial probe, a chunk went to the seventh district of Cebu with a good number going to a sole contractor. Just when we thought the discussion of the flood control scam was already off the table, it is yet to resurface.

Sixty billion could be appropriated for many other viable infrastructures, ones that actually last and work. Remulla said that they will be looking into different factors for its failure, such as planning and execution, which will boil down to corruption. While it is easy to point fingers and claim anomalies, he said that they are keen to pin down the evidence. For me, this is what is very important at this point. Ensuring that claims become the truth would be helpful to convince the people otherwise.

The result of the investigation will be a gamechanger for the next elections. The people are eager to know who are playing with their hard-earned money. It could be just a shocker if their favorite politician is indeed a culprit, talk about having an internal conflict inside. I'd like to say there is already a good number of Filipinos who are already well-aware about the situation and that they demand their money to be put to good use. As some foreigners would say, the Philippines isn't poor, it is only mismanaged.

While the Ombudsman will continue his series of inspections and probe, we, as citizens, also have a role to play. We have to keep asking questions, especially when billions are involved. We have to look beyond the headlines and wait for the evidence to speak for itself. It is easy to become angry, but accountability requires more than anger. It requires facts, transparency and the courage to follow where the money leads.

For years, flooding has been treated as something that Filipinos have to live with when we shouldn’t in the first place. Money invested was indeed money lost and those who misused it should be held accountable. Perhaps this is the bigger meaning behind the "billion-verse." It is not simply about a staggering amount of money but about what that money could have done for Filipinos. Think about if we were protected from the perils of the flood and roads are passable during heavy rains. I would like to feel that happiness again when it rains and not feel anxious.

The flood control projects should save lives, livelihoods and the whole community. At this point, these three words are about trust. Every peso lost to corruption is a peso taken away from a Filipino who deserves better. We push for the investigation to continue and let the evidence speak. When the truth comes out, let us hope that accountability will not end with another headline, but with action.