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MANILA, Philippines — Erring private contractors and their accomplices in the government should face the certainty of punishment once failed or ghost flood control projects are identified, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.
“Someone must be held accountable. If not, the flood control mess will continue, with culprits lying low and going back to business,” Lacson told Bombo Radyo Philippines.
Almost P2 trillion had been allocated for flood control projects since 2011, Lacson bared last week.
Up to half of the amount may have ended up in some people’s pockets, he noted.
President Marcos has ordered an audit of flood control programs, a publicized list of failed and ghost projects and the filing of charges against those responsible.
Congressmen are receiving 35 to 40-percent kickbacks from infrastructure projects, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong claimed yesterday.
Corruption starts when lawmakers select the district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), he said.
“Lawmakers are selecting them, not the public works secretary,” Magalong said. “From the very start, there’s already a conspiracy.”
Corrupt lawmakers favor flood control and road projects since they can manipulate the cost and volume of materials, he noted.
“Same thing with cat’s eye, solar lights… their favorite,” he added, referring to safety devices installed on roads.
Only 35 percent of the contract value for infrastructure projects would remain for project implementation, Magalong said.
“At an average of 30 percent (in kickbacks), minus the seven percent value-added tax, one-percent insurance bond, plus the implementing agency gets around 12 percent, then three-percent contingency fund, plus another two percent, hence, around 55 percent (of the budget) gets removed,” he explained.
If contractors get 10 percent of the budget, only 35 percent remains for project implementation, he added.
Magalong described the current system on government infrastructure projects a “highly organized” crime involving collusion between contractors and bidding agencies.
The mayor welcomed Senate President Francis Escudero’s proposed law prohibiting relatives of public officials, up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, from becoming contractors or suppliers of the government.
Meanwhile, Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Terry Ridon has challenged Magalong to show evidence to support his claim “because it is hard to make a generalization that all lawmakers are doing the same thing.”
Meanwhile, the DPWH wants P5 billion to dredge the country’s rivers and waterways to solve flooding.
Purchasing new heavy equipment is needed for the initiative, Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said.
No funds have been allocated for massive dredging or desilting activities, he noted.
Procurement of dredging equipment will be included in the agency’s 2026 budget proposal, he said.
Local government units should take charge of managing flood control projects, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said.
Moreno lamented the continued dysfunction of flood control systems under the DPWH, particularly the Sunog Apog pumping station in Tondo, which he called “brand new, but ineffective and not functioning.”
The DPWH, he said, has yet to finish constructing the Estero de Abad, Remedios and Padre Faura pumping stations near Manila Bay due to “ongoing problems.” - Rainier Allan Ronda, Ghio Ong
