There are a few individuals who seem to still be believable among the gamut of personalities associated with the floodgate probe, which merely reflects the utter bankruptcy of confidence in the current administration.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon has taken the role of troubleshooter for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

He was sworn in on 1 September, replacing Manuel Bonoan who resigned under the principle of command responsibility after a Senate exposé revealed P100-billion-plus in rigged, overpriced and “ghost” flood control projects.

Dizon’s track record of firefighting extends well beyond his being former President Rodrigo Duterte’s Covid-testing czar and taking over as secretary at the Department of Transportation replacing the terminated Jimmy Bautista.

Yet many see Dizon as a convenient cover for Mr. Marcos, who is threatened with his own “Hello Garci” moment amid the giant kickback outrage.

By sacrificing Bonoan and installing Dizon, the President bought time, signaled zero tolerance and kept the compromised probes from climbing higher.

Dizon recently vowed that several of those implicated in the scam will be spending their Christmas behind bars. Many are holding him to the task of overhauling the graft-ridden infrastructure agency.

The transformation in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will require grooming young, like-minded officials to compose Dizon’s team.

The seed of change was planted, for instance, with the appointment of 36-year-old Lara Marisse Esquibil as undersecretary, taking the place of Arrey Perez who was a victim of intrigue and quickly resigned lest Dizon get distracted from the work of transforming the DPWH.

Perez has returned to the private sector after resenting being treated with disrespect in the government service, according to a private sector executive who has been closely following “Floodgate’s” progress.

His replacement is expected to play a pivotal role in transforming the department from a lair of thieves into a truly professional agency.

Esquibil’s appointment showed Dizon’s determination to tap the youth in making the ground fertile again.

Esquibil’s career at DPWH is young but already impressive. She did not come out of nowhere but had been endorsed by no less than two former DPWH chiefs — Rogelio Singson and Jose de Jesus.

She is a product of the University of the Philippines (UP) engineering program and holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering degree, specializing in Structural Engineering.

Dizon used four words to support Esquibil’s rise to a key position in the DPWH — honesty, hard work and professionalism.

Dizon has the gargantuan task of turning around the public outrage at the DPWH because of the flood control scam involving trillions in public funds lost to ghost projects and corrupt deals.

Yet since the administration has a sparse lineup of dependable officials, he has no choice but to take up the cudgels for the President.

Most government appointees were either Duterte holdovers or technocrats on life support because no one else wanted the job.

The lack of dependable allies would be more pronounced as the next national elections approach.

A shallow bench is a countdown timer wired to the President’s political survival.