The outrage over the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects worth billions of pesos being cornered by 15 contractors has opened a Pandora’s box of irregularities, which exposes the anatomy of greed in government.

Officials steeped in the crooked culture detailed the collusion of members of Congress who insert pork projects into the budget of national agencies and officials of implementing departments.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. expressed incredulity over a so-called “ghost project” in Baliwag, Bulacan, regarding the status of a reinforced concrete river wall project in the city.

During an inspection, the river wall was nowhere to be found.

Marcos said he was “angry” and “extremely disappointed” to find that the flood control project, which had been marked “100 percent complete,” did not exist.

The rotten system starts with the selection of the district or regional engineer of the DPWH. The Secretary of DPWH does not make the selection, but the lawmakers do.

This reflects the conspiracy among legislators and agency officials from the start.

Flood control projects have become their favorite because they involve submerged work, such as sheet piles installed underground and desilting projects.

Other favored kickback sources are asphalt overlays, road openings, “cat’s eye” (road reflectors), safety barriers and solar lights.

In such projects, the legislators’ take is around 35 to 40 percent, which is the standard, especially if it’s their pork barrel fund.

That already includes deductions for taxes and insurance, which is seven percent. Then, the insurance bond is one percent, or 8 percent in total.

That’s already 38 percent. Then the implementing agency, such as the DPWH, gets around 10 to 12 percent.

So that’s already half of the cost. Then there’s a three percent contingency fund, and another two percent for other expenses, leaving only 45 percent for the building of the project.

From that 45 percent, you still have to factor in the contractor’s profit of about 10 percent, which will not be realized immediately because it will be part of the retention.

If you deduct five percent for retention, only 35 percent is left as actual funds.

Unfortunately for the contractor, the 10 percent profit will only be received after one year. So, most likely, the contractor will still take 35 percent of that.

So in the end, only about 30 percent of the budget goes to the project.

Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan’s claim of an internal investigation, however, will not appease concerns since a budget watchman said, “It’s like saying a criminal will investigate the crime he committed.”

The official who has been keeping close tabs on the developments regarding the budget asked: “But didn’t you wonder why the people applauded?”

He supplied the answer: “It’s because they know it will be tough to pin them down. Because they didn’t sign anything. They take the biggest share there, but they don’t sign anything because that’s the arrangement — it’s a syndicate. It’s organized crime.”

It is a cartel of bloodsuckers who prey on the people’s hard-earned money.