More Vince Dizons needed

More Vince Dizons needed | Daily Tribune

The Arroyo administration had the ZTE-NBN, fertilizer fund, and Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scams, the Aquino administration had the Development Acceleration Program (DAP) and Bureau of Immigration capers, and the Duterte administration had the PhilHealth and Pharmally scandals.

A new administration is in office, and we again find ourselves glued to our television sets and mobile phones watching another unconscionable iteration of the theft of public funds unfold: the flood control scandal.

It is unclear under which administration the syndicated scheme was initiated but what is certain is that the amount pilfered thus far is unprecedented — in the tens, maybe even hundreds, of billions of pesos lost (actually stolen) from the taxpayers.

But whose heads will be on the chopping block? Manual Bonoan was finally axed with Vince Dizon taking over as head of the beleaguered DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) in the hopes of cleaning up the ranks and finally getting things done.

Many laud Dizon’s appointment. But a win for DPWH is a loss for the Department of Transportation (DoTr). In his six-month stint there, Vince Dizon made a staggering impact, making considerable headway and proving himself a valuable addition to the Cabinet and an asset to President BongBong Marcos.

Dizon’s mettle was tested by the closure of the San Juanico Bridge connecting the islands of Samar and Leyte, which is vital to the nautical highway. He was quick to muster all agencies to work together to avert what could have been a massive nationwide supply and distribution crisis.

Dizon showed everyone he was capable of (re-)moving mountains when he tore down the ridiculously high overpass on EDSA nicknamed “Mt. Kamuning” — quite a feat considering someone could’ve (and should’ve) done it a long time ago but couldn’t be bothered since they (or anyone they cared about) didn’t have to climb it.

With Dizon at the helm of DoTr, we could literally almost see the light at the end of the tunnel for the much-delayed Metro Manila Subway Project that would decongest the traffic ridden Metro.

But that light has been dimmed with Dizon’s transfer to DPWH. He expanded the payment mechanism for the MRT, streamlined ticketing for discounted fares, and even managed to finally put the Dalian trains to use on the MRT Line 3 when everyone else had given up on it.

On the bright side, Vince Dizon promises to have the political will and track record to clean up and revive the credibility of the DPWH. He is certainly going in with high expectations in terms of accomplishments. His actions should be nothing less than decisive, swift and sweeping from day one as all eyes will be on him.

The public desperately needs to see tangible reforms and the completion of projects. Maybe with Dizon at DPWH, there is hope the Marcos administration will finish the legacy infrastructure projects before end of his term in 2028.

However, one cannot help but wonder: is there no one else up to the task out there? Is Vince Dizon the only person in the President’s Cabinet capable of effectively executing his directives and vision? Dizon’s transfer to the DPWH while laudable highlights the shallow bench of the Marcos administration. The Palace should exert more effort in finding and hiring more Vince Dizons for the Cabinet and other major government posts.