The nation has just received another gut punch.

In a revelation as damning as it is disturbing, retired Supreme Court Justice Andres Reyes Jr., chairman of the newly created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), disclosed that personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have allegedly been destroying and tampering with official documents linked to suspicious flood control projects.

This is sabotage—of the truth, of justice, and of public trust.

If these allegations are accurate, then we are not simply facing another corruption scandal. We are facing widespread destruction of evidence, an institutional cover-up that aims to strangle the truth before it can even breathe. These actions compromise not just the integrity of the ICI’s investigation, but the very integrity of the government itself.

Every document shredded, every file deleted, is a betrayal. Yes, it is a betrayal of the millions of Filipinos who wade through waist-deep floods every rainy season, and victims of substandard, overpriced, or even ghost flood control projects. These documents referred to by Justice Reyes are not ordinary documents, they are the smoking guns of a deeply rooted rot.

This development demands President Marcos’ immediate and unflinching action. Fiery words are not enough to secure these vital documents. The DPWH must be secured now. Not next week, not tomorrow, but now.

If this government is serious about fighting corruption, then all DPWH offices involved in flood control programs must be immediately secured. Law enforcement must act—swiftly and impartially. The Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and even the military, if necessary, should take over the preservation of records before more damage is done.

These files are pieces of truth that could put corrupt officials behind bars and save billions of pesos in future infrastructure budgets. Their destruction is a direct assault on accountability.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon should step up and act decisively to secure the documents the way he swiftly acted to dismiss erring officials of the department long-plagued by allegations of corruption. He should ensure all relevant documents are sealed.

President Marcos must go a step further. He must capitalize on the investigative expertise of Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, who is now spearheading an investigation into the anomalous flood control projects as chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee. Known for his meticulous investigations into government anomalies and his no-nonsense leadership, Lacson’s involvement could provide the muscle and sharpness this investigation needs. Let’s bring this kind of leadership that doesn’t flinch in the face of power or influence.

But this is not a fight for the President, or the ICI, or Secretary Dizon alone.

This is a national emergency, not just a bureaucratic scandal. The Filipino people must act. Whistleblowers within DPWH must be protected and encouraged to come forward. Civil society, the media, and watchdog organizations must keep the pressure up. If we let this moment pass, we lose not only evidence, but an opportunity to dismantle a rotten system that has, for decades, stolen both money and dignity from this country.

We cannot keep asking why corruption never ends in the Philippines if, every time we uncover the truth, we let it be buried under the weight of apathy and inaction.

This is a test. Not just of governance, but of national will.

Do we want to be remembered as a people who let the truth disappear in shredders or computer trash bins? Or as a people who stood up, demanded accountability, and made corruption a deadly gamble, not a profitable norm?

We must secure the DPWH. We must save the evidence. And we must, all of us, stand guard over the truth.

Because if we don’t, no one else will.