Katelyn Eunice S. Roque, First Place in the Climate and Environment Category

This letter features reporting from “Crooked Cops and Decrepit Infrastructure Snarl Manila Traffic” by Tom Hundley

Dear Honorable Congressman Domingo,

I am writing to you not only as a student of Bulacan but as a daughter of a community that has learned to live with the fear of rising waters. Every monsoon, our province braces for floods that drown our streets, destroy our homes, and disrupt our schools. Yet what breaks our hearts most is realizing that many of these floods are not just natural disasters, but preventable consequences of corruption, neglect, and substandard infrastructure.

As highlighted in the Pulitzer Center-supported report “Crooked Cops and Decrepit Infrastructure Snarl Manila Traffic” by Tom Hundley, corruption in infrastructure has long paralyzed the Philippines’ development. The story reveals how bribery, poor planning, and negligence cripple the nation’s progress, leading to unsafe, substandard projects that endanger citizens’ lives. Though it focuses on Manila, its essence speaks powerfully to what Bulacan faces today: a system where dishonesty robs both progress and protection.

Investigative reporting and Senate inquiry coverage in recent years have revealed that billions of pesos intended for flood control projects in the Philippines were siphoned off through overpriced contracts, substandard construction, and “ghost” projects, with kickbacks reaching up to 20% per project. Instead of protection, communities were left with collapsing dikes, unfinished drainage systems, and weak defenses against climate-driven storms. These failures have shaken public trust—not only in our flood systems, but in the leaders who promised to safeguard us.

Here in Bulacan, we witness this reality daily. Flooding continues to worsen despite the enormous budgets poured into supposed “control” projects. Substandard infrastructure—cracked roads, weak bridges, and half-built canals—do not just endanger lives, they erode the foundations of progress. When schools are submerged, learning stops. When hospitals flood, care is delayed. When roads crumble, livelihoods halt. The ripple effect of corruption is vast. It drowns not only homes, but hope itself.

The people of Bulacan have begun to ask difficult but necessary questions: Where did our taxes go? Why do projects deteriorate long before their expected lifespan? Why do we rebuild the same roads and dikes every year, while the poor rebuild their lives from nothing? These questions echo through classrooms, markets, and homes—not out of anger, but out of longing for honesty.

Globally, as the United Nations Environment Programme warns, corruption in climate adaptation weakens resilience and deepens inequality. When funds meant for safety vanish, the poorest suffer the most. Around the world, communities rise against this pattern, demanding transparency, accountability, and justice. Should Bulacan not lead that same change here at home?

Honorable Congressman, as the representative of our district, you hold both the power and the duty to ensure that every peso truly protects. You can restore not just the structures that defend us from floods, but the people’s faith in governance itself. I respectfully urge you to:

• Initiate a transparent and independent audit of all flood control and public infrastructure projects in the 1st District of Bulacan since 2022, verifying their existence, quality, and public benefit.
• Mandate full transparency by publishing contractor names, project budgets, timelines, and geotagged photos online so every citizen can track where their money goes.
• Champion sustainable, nature-based solutions, such as riverbank reforestation, mangrove restoration, and wetland rehabilitation, which are proven worldwide to reduce flooding while preserving ecosystems and minimizing corruption risks.

In neighboring Pampanga, youth volunteers have already begun restoring riverbanks with native vegetation—a small, transparent, and community-led solution that protects lives without relying on massive, corruption-prone projects. Bulacan can learn from such honesty in action.

Congressman Domingo, integrity is the strongest flood barrier of all. When projects are built with honesty, they endure. When leaders act with conscience, the people stand with them. Our province does not need another promise—it needs proof. Proof that its leaders are willing to protect the people, not profit from their pain.

I write this not as an accusation, but as an appeal from a young voice that still believes change is possible. I hope you will champion this cause, not for the headlines, but for every child who dreams of learning without wading through floodwater, every family who longs to sleep without fear, and every citizen who dares to believe that honesty can still rise above the storm.

Thank you for your time, your service, and, I hope, your courage to lead Bulacan toward transparency, safety, and trust.

With deep respect and faith,
Katelyn Eunice S. Roque

Katelyn Eunice S. Roque is a Filipina Science, Technology, and Engineering student at Bulacan State University Laboratory High School and the Vice President of the Values Education Club. She is a student journalist with interests in social issues, economics, and civic engagement, and expresses creativity through fashion and modeling. Passionate about governance and youth participation in politics, she hopes to use her future studies in Accountancy and Law to help others, advocate for fairness, and make a meaningful impact in her community.

Read more winning entries from the 2025 Local Letters for Global Change contest!