OP-ED | Corruption Must Fall if We Are to End Insurgency—former rebels

We former rebels consider corruption as one of the reasons why we took up arms. We know what it is like to be driven to anger by an unfair system, broken promises, and dynasties fattening themselves while the poor starve. For us, corruption is not just a scandal. It is betrayal. It is the poison that fed the insurgency for decades. And unless it is destroyed, no peace will last.

The latest controversy swirling around the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is no different from the countless anomalies we once witnessed in our own communities. Billions of pesos in so-called “flood-control projects” are now exposed as scams—overpriced, substandard, or non-existent works designed not to save people from floods but to fill the pockets of the powerful.

photo courtesy of Philippine Star

At the center of this storm stands Albay Rep. Zaldy Co, whose family-owned Sunwest Construction and Development Corp. has bagged dozens of lucrative contracts since 2022. Allegations show that over a billion pesos in development funds have conveniently flowed to areas surrounding his family’s properties. And it does not end there—nine contractors tied to political clans now control billions’ worth of DPWH projects across the country. This is not governance; this is plunder in broad daylight.

We, former rebels, cannot stay silent. We know too well how these thefts play out in the lives of ordinary people. A stolen road project means farmers left stranded with their crops rotting. A ghost flood-control system means communities submerged in water, livelihoods washed away. Each betrayal deepens anger, and into that anger the CPP-NPA sinks its claws, whispering: “See? The government does not care. Only we will fight for you.”

That is how corruption feeds rebellion. That is why many of us were once deceived into joining the insurgency. And that is why we now say with burning conviction that every peso stolen by corrupt officials is another bullet handed to the NPA.

The guilty must not only be investigated, they must be punished. Zaldy Co and every contractor or politician implicated must be held accountable, stripped of power, and made to return what they stole. The government must prove to the people that no dynasty, no family name, no seat in Congress is beyond the reach of justice. Because if justice does not come, insurgency will.

But the fight against corruption does not rest on government alone. Ordinary people must take part, because silence is complicity. Across the country, there are already small but powerful movements proving that accountability is possible. Take for example the National Federation of Former Rebels People’s Organizations, which has been steadily helping communities rebuild, while also pushing for clean and transparent governance. Programs under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), like PAMANA and SHAPE, bring development to areas once torn by conflict—projects that only succeed when the people themselves help guard them.

Watchdogs such as the Cordillera Citizens Alliance for Good Governance (CCAGG) have shown that farmers, fisherfolk, and ordinary citizens can monitor public funds and ensure that projects are real, not just paper promises. Even movements like Kaya Natin!, which promote ethical leadership and good governance, open their doors to volunteers who want to help dismantle the culture of impunity. These efforts prove that while corruption thrives in darkness, it weakens wherever people shine a light.

As former rebels, we have traded our rifles for truth. But our fight did not end when we left the mountains. We now stand shoulder to shoulder with the people, exposing corruption and demanding justice. We will not let dynasties and contractors fatten themselves on the suffering of the poor without being called out.

If corruption thrives, insurgency will rise again. But if corruption falls, so too will the excuses that armed struggle feeds on.

The choice lies with government and people alike—act now, or allow the same cycle of betrayal, anger, and bloodshed to repeat itself.