Malaca±ang: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday unveiled a new AI-driven transparency portal for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), framing it as the government's strongest reform measure yet after months of revelations over ghost projects, kickbacks, and anomalies in flood control projects.
According to Philippines News Agency, Marcos described the portal as the 'third phase' of his administration's response to the scandal. After identifying defective or nonexistent projects and pinpointing those responsible, the next step, he said, is systemic reform. "One of the things that became very clear in all of these investigations is that we lost transparency," he stated. He highlighted issues such as local chief executives being blocked by contractors from inspecting projects, emphasizing the lack of transparency.
The DPWH Transparency Portal allows users to search infrastructure projects by location and view implementing offices, contractors, budgets, accomplishments, target dates, procurement data, and official documents. Users can tag projects as completed, defective, duplicate, unfinished, or ghost. The portal, which complements the Sumbong sa Pangulo website launched to report anomalous flood control projects, features geotagged photos from pre-construction to completion, and satellite images supplied by the Philippine Space Agency and private partners. Procurement livestreams, including real-time bidding proceedings, are also integrated.
Marcos stressed the importance of full disclosure, stating, "Ginagawa natin full disclosure dahil karapatan malaman ng lahat kung paano ginagastos ang pera ng bayan (We're doing full disclosure because everyone has the right to know how public funds are spent)." To make the portal user-friendly, it includes a conversational AI assistant in Filipino and English. "Dinisenyo ito para kahit hindi ka techie, madaling gamitin (It's designed so even non-techie users can navigate it easily)," he added. The portal is accessible at: https://www.transparency.dpwh.gov.ph/.
The President urged the public to scrutinize projects and report irregularities, encouraging them, "Huwag kayong magdalawang-isip. Isumbong ninyo (Don't hesitate. Report it)." As the administration continues its corruption probe and as cases advance in the Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan, Marcos framed transparency as the key to rebuilding trust. "Sunlight is the best medicine," he said. "Open everything up to the sunlight because the people need to know."
