LAWMAKERS on Friday raised the alarm against the plan of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade not to hold public biddings for some P8 trillion worth of big-ticket projects under the emergency powers package his office is seeking from Congress, saying this may usher in a “golden age of corruption” instead of the promised “golden age of infrastructure.”
Akbayan Rep. Tomasino Villarin said allowing the Department of Transportation to enter into negotiated contracts under the guise of emergency powers may lead to massive anomalies instead.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” Villarin rebuked Tugade for announcing in a recent press briefing at the Palace that the Duterte administration will “build, build, build” to the tune of P8 trillion once they get the special powers they are seeking.
“Emergency powers are not justified as these will lead to greed and abuse. While there is great potential in having these infrastructure projects, mechanisms of transparency and accountability must be put in place, especially when some of the government’s Chinese partners have been tagged by Transparency International as among the companies that ‘symbolize grand corruption,’” he added.
Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said that P8 trillion was too big an amount, saying Congress has yet to see Tugade’s formal proposal.
Alejano said the timing of the implementation of these projects must be seriously considered because it may paralyze the entire Metro Manila.
“That is a huge amount. We must remember that construction in the National Capital Region should be planned and phased because, even if assuming you have the money, you cannot do the projects all at the same time in just so short a time. It will paralyze the whole capital,” Alejano said.
“We must also consider that there is not much space for expansion and the population and the number of cars are rising. There is no substitute for laying the ground now for long-term solutions.
Tugade on Thursday called on Congress to grant his department emergency powers to allow it to solve the worsening traffic crisis in Metro Manila and in other congested provinces.
“Is the population willing to wait some more?” Tugade said, hinting that Congress is to blame for the delay in the implementation of promised solutions as lawmakers have yet to pass the special powers package.
“We need the emergency power to expedite…If they would not give it, we will do what we believe needs to be done, but there will be delays,” Tugade said.
Earlier, Senator Grace Poe, who heads the Senate committee on public services, cautioned the Transporation Department to ensure that public funds are spent judiciously even with emergency powers.
Poe issued the warning as she questioned the department’s P219-billion proposed subway project that will cover only 14 kilometers.
“When it comes to spending taxpayers’ money, the rule is that the bigger the expenditure, the more rigorous the scrutiny must be… If projects do not go through public bidding, that means it will be more prone to corruption,” she said.
“If the emergency powers bill is not the magic wand that will make all our problems go away, it is also not a magic password that should allow thieves to just come in and have their day,” Poe added.
