Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon has assured the House of Representatives on continued lifestyle checks in the agency as an antii-corruption measure.

Dizon made the pronouncement during the DPWH's recent budget hearing before the House Committee on Appropriations.

During the DPWH budget hearing, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno asked how regularly the department conducts lifestyle checks and stressed the need for stronger accountability mechanisms.

Dizon says lifestyle checks are conducted continuously in coordination with the Office of the Ombudsman.

He also said the DPWH has adopted a “one-strike policy” under which verified reports of wrongdoing may lead to show-cause orders, suspension, or termination.

“Tuluy-tuloy po ang...aming lifestyle checks (Our lifestyle checks are continuous). In fact, we are working very very closely with the Office of the Ombudsman on this,” he said.

“In some cases, we have even terminated people just based on reports on social media that have been properly verified and validated. So, tuluy-tuloy po tayo diyan (So, we are continuing with that)," noted the DPWH head honcho.

Dizon also said the DPWH was working on additional waiver and disclosure requirements beyond existing statements of assets and liabilities, including stronger conflict-of-interest disclosures.

He added that the department is working with the SEC on stricter disclosure standards for private contractors handling public funds.

Meanwhile, Diokno urged the DPWH to develop a national flood control and drainage plan after Dizon said the agency was shifting toward interventions at the major river-basin level.

“Kung wala tayong national plan at hindi nakasaad doon kung ano 'yung mga general principles that should apply anywhere in the country…para rin tayo…by analogy, wala tayong national land use plan,” the solon said

(If we don't have a national plan and it doesn't state the general principles that should apply anywhere in the country…then, by analogy, it's as if we don't have a national land use plan.)

“How can we expect to develop rationally in the coming five, 10 or 15 years without this kind of comprehensive approach?” he asked.

Diokno says a national master plan is needed to coordinate flood control efforts and provide a long-term strategy, particularly after seeing firsthand the impact of flooding in Pampanga.

“Just the other day nakapunta po ako ng ilang bahagi ng Pampanga (I visited some parts of Pampanga), where flooding has not just been a recurring, but appears to be a perennial problem…Everything comes to a standstill when an area is flooded and the water doesn't go down,” he shared.

“Iyong estudyante natin, hindi nakakapasok sa eskuwelahan, 'yung mga manggagawa natin, hindi rin nakakapasok sa kanilang mga opisina. Mismo 'yung buong ekonomiya ay wala nang gagalaw. And in the areas that I visited, they were telling me that this has been happening to them not just for weeks and for months, but halos taon-taon, umaabot na daw sa dekada na ganito nga,” he said.

(Our students cannot go to school, our workers cannot get to their offices, and the entire economy comes to a standstill. In the areas I visited, they told me this has been happening not just for weeks or months, but almost every year, and has supposedly been going on like this for decades.)

According to Diokno, the recurring impact of flooding on communities and the economy underscored the need for a comprehensive, long-term national flood control and drainage plan to guide government interventions.