Unquestionably, this year has been marked with unforgiving catastrophes. Just this week, in fact, two unrelated tremors hit the country. First was in the Visayas (epicenter was in Bogo City, Cebu) at 9:59 PM on September 30, 2025 and in just a little over four hours, Taal Volcano erupted.
Though Taal Volcano’s eruption was a bit trivial, Bogo City, Cebu and its surrounding municipalities suffered horribly. At 6.9 magnitude, several structures collapsed and scores of lives never made it. Apart from these sad tales, more than five hundred were reported injured. Dejectedly, both happened while we are still trying to fend off the damages brought about by Typhoon Opong in other parts of the country.
Just like many tragedies in the past, however, the recent one also brought about the best character in most of us, generosity. While some sectors took some religious spins on these catastrophes, the fact remains that scientifically, natural tragedies do happen once in a while and depending on their strengths, may or may not bring about destruction to anyone. If it does happen, however, the weaker structures will suffer the most.
Notably, to some extent, nature has also conspired with well-meaning citizens, to do good as well, in unearthing potential anomalies. For instance, the tremor that hit the Visayas in 2013. To recall, as photos revealed, some kilometers of damaged concrete roads and bridges in Bohol didn’t have or have insufficient steel bars. Apparently, poorly built, these roads, bridges and structures were not able to withstand tremors of such magnitude. Thus, certainly, some unscrupulous people must have siphoned enough money and rendered the projects destruction-bound. The same is also true this week as some roads and bridges are rendered unusable.
With this in mind, as reconstruction begins in these badly hit areas, we have more reasons to worry. It is a known fact that politicians wield so much power especially in the countryside. Most of them are astute businessmen too. They are mostly into construction and other related businesses like hardware and sand and gravel. With the LGUs’ Bids and Awards Committees (BACs) under their total control and co-bidders downright cohorts, they’ll surely win, albeit, under cover of their distant relatives’ or close friends’ names. Consequently, undertaken projects, most likely, will be either overpriced or substandard.
Thus, absorptive capacity theory must come into play. Among others, there are salient points in this theory that we must all learn and, hopefully, adhere to. These are, ability to use funds, budget utilization and program implementation. So self-explanatory, isn’t it. However, there are lots of obstacles that hinder absorptive capacity. Among many, in our country’s situation, poor capacity, structural issues as well as efficiency and accountability stand out the most.
Our DPWH and LGU Engineering Departments have unequivocally shown these deficiencies in capacity and structural issues in their respective organizations. Absolutely, apart from nature’s wrath, the Senate and ICI hearings have also uncovered that. More importantly, even COA wasn’t able to adequately perform their role as guardian of the public funds. Explicitly, it is its mandate as granted by the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Its auditors are supposed to ‘examine, audit, and settle all government accounts and expenditures to ensure that public resources are used legally, efficiently, and for their intended purposes, preventing their misuse or misappropriation.’
On the other hand, a question on absorptive capacity is supposed to be dug deeply when such term was mentioned by Sen. Lacson in one of the hearings of the Senate’s Blue-Ribbon Committee. Remember the P51 billion infrastructure budget of the First District of Davao City in the last three years of Pres. Duterte’s presidency? Yes, it should have been given value. Why? If true, the local economy will be largely affected. Yes, infra development will boost the local economy as industries related to construction will rake in a lot. Sadly, however, there are other industries that might be getting the shorter end of the stick here too.