Former Public Works Secretary and former Independent Committee on Infrastructure (ICI) commissioner Rogelio L. Singson said leading corporations and organizations in the country should promote civic-mindedness to help develop a new generation of leaders.
Speaking at an event of the Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines, Singson encouraged companies to support initiatives through corporate social responsibility (CSR).
“Just choose your CSR (corporate social responsibility). It has to come somewhere,” Singson said.
He also stressed the importance of understanding Generation Z, those born from 1997 to 2012, who he said will become future leaders.
“We have to understand the Gen Z, what drives them, what keeps them awake. You’d be surprised, our standards before, and we’re not that old,… are no longer acceptable to them,” Singson said.
Singson said organizations should reassess their leadership and remain relevant to younger generations.
“So this is what I keep saying when I was (leading) Metro Pacific Tollways (Corp.), how relevant are you as a leader and as an organization?,” he said.
He said that when he headed Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation, the company focused on identifying problems and resetting its approach, including choosing leaders with strong moral values.
“And then we have to act. Acting means choosing our leaders… who have the correct moral values that we can hold accountable for honesty, integrity and accountability,” he said.
Singson also explained his resignation from the Independent Committee on Infrastructure, an ad hoc body created by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in September 2025 to investigate corruption in flood control projects. He said his role had already been completed.
“Frankly, from day one I knew what was going to be my role. My role could be done in three months because my role was to explain to the commission, to the line agencies how, why and who were involved in the corruption,” he said.
Drawing from his experience as head of the Department of Public Works and Highways during the administration of Benigno Aquino III, Singson said corruption in infrastructure projects often involved ghost projects and inflated costs.
He cited cases where contractors billed the government up to P2 billion a month and spent P26 billion in a year, which made them appear as top performers because they were spending faster.
Singson added that the Department of Budget and Management generally presumed projects were regular because its mandate focused on how quickly funds were spent.
He said the investigation later required extensive documentation and legal review before cases could be filed with the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Unfortunately, when we started, there was no Ombudsman that was active. It was only when Ombudsman Boying (Jesus Crispin Remulla) stepped in, who said that we were already redundant. So fine, because we were just investigative, we were not going to bring it beyond submitting documents to the Ombudsman,” Singson said.
