Newly appointed Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered all Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials—from undersecretaries to district engineers—to submit courtesy resignations, following a directive from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. aimed at cleaning up the agency amid reports of corruption and ghost projects.
Dizon made the announcement Monday during a Palace press briefing shortly after taking his oath of office before President Marcos. He replaces former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
“My first order is the courtesy resignation of officials from top to bottom,” said Dizon. “That is the first directive of our President… to ‘clean up’ the DPWH and this is the beginning.”
The call paves the way for a personnel review determining who among the current officials are fit to hold “sensitive and important positions,” Dizon said, stressing that the move seeks to restore accountability within the department.
The policy follows the recent revelation of a supposed flood control project in Calumpit, Bulacan, which President Marcos described as a “non-existent” project—despite documents showing a contractor had already been paid.
“That kind of project would not exist if there was no collusion within the DPWH,” Dizon emphasized, promising administrative and legal action against those responsible.
While acknowledging the challenge of reforming a historically troubled agency, Dizon said, “It has to be done… We have all seen what happened here in this agency.”
The unprecedented courtesy resignation mandate signals a potential shift in the administration’s approach to internal government reform, putting pressure on other agencies to follow suit.
