Slaying the Hydra

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to slash infrastructure project costs by up to 50 percent across seven key government agencies is a welcome and forceful blow against the open secret of systemic corruption.

His declaration that “the only thing weakened will be corruption” is the kind of decisive rhetoric the public has been yearning for. By expanding the cost-cutting crusade from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Education (DepEd), and others, the administration is attempting to cauterize a wound that has bled the nation’s coffers for decades.

This is a laudable first step. But it is just that – a first step. We must not mistake lopping off one of the beast’s heads for slaying it entirely.

Corruption in the Philippines is a Hydra; a mythical, multi-headed monster. For every head you sever, two more grow in its place. The President’s war on inflated costs targets a visible symptom—overpricing—but it does not yet attack the disease: the deeply entrenched syndicates of politicians, fixers, and contractors who have perfected the art of plundering public funds. The recent House decision to reallocate PHP 252 billion from the DPWH’s flood control budget to other sectors is a case in point. While laudable in intent, this massive fund transfer simply moves the pot of gold.

Now, PHP 44.9 billion goes to agriculture, PHP 37.3 billion to education, and PHP 89.2 billion to health. Are we to believe the vultures that have long circled the DPWH will simply fold their wings and repent? It is far more likely they will follow the money. The ghost projects, substandard materials, and kickbacks that plagued road construction could easily remanifest in farm-to-market roads, school buildings, and rural health units. The corrupt are adaptable. We have seen this before with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scandal, where the Supreme Court outlawed the mechanism, but the schemes simply evolved into new, more sophisticated forms.

Merely shifting the budget is like moving valuables from one room to another while the thieves are still inside the house. The real solution is not just to make theft more difficult, but to make it intolerably costly. The only language the masterminds of this “pork barrel cartel” understand is consequence.

This is where the President’s anti-corruption campaign must go next. It must pivot from accounting reform to aggressive prosecution. The Filipino people need to see not just lower project costs, but high-level conspirators in handcuffs. Without significant jail time for the architects of these schemes, the message remains that corruption is a calculated risk, not a career-ending crime. We need to break the cycle of impunity that has allowed this systemic rot to fester.

To truly slay the Hydra, the administration must attack its heart. This means reinforcing institutional safeguards that outlast any single president’s term. It requires empowering the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan to act swiftly and without political fear. Critically, it demands a renewed commitment to transparency. The walls that have been built around the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of public officials must be torn down. Regular, unannounced lifestyle checks must become standard practice, not a political weapon.

The President has aimed his sword at the beast’s head. We applaud his aim and his courage. Now, he must strike at its heart. Without accountability and systemic transparency, we are not ending corruption; we are merely forcing it to regenerate in a new and perhaps more monstrous form.