SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez has confirmed the reports that some members of the Road Board have capitalized on their position to allegedly amass huge kickbacks from the projects financed by the Road User’s Tax.
He said he had also received reports from fellow lawmakers about the illegal conditions being imposed by some members of the Road Board on those seeking to avail of the road usertax.
I have filed a bill to abolish the Road Board because of the numerous complaints from fellow legislators,” Alvarez told reporters.
He has authored House Bill 6236 seeking to abolish the Road Board and transfer its functions to the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation and Communication.
The board is tasked to ensure the efficient management of the Road User’s Tax, which is estimated to have amounted to P90.72 billion from 2001 to 2012.
However, Alvarez said the Commission on Audit had raised questions on the use of the fund from 2001 to 2013.
He said the Road User’s Tax was earmarked solely and exclusively for road maintenance and the improvement of road drainage, the installation of efficient traffic lights and road safety devices and air pollution control.
He said if the project proponents refused to give in to the demand for 20 percent of the project cost, the unscrupulous Road Board officials would offer an alternative.
By designating a contractor, a corrupt official could easily arrange kickbacks in exchange for the award of the contract.
Alvarez said such illegal practices should be stopped. He said those responsible for those illegal acts as well as the inappropriate use of the road fund were liable for graft.
Earlier, the Road Board issued a statement”•a week after Alvarez filed his bill”•claiming the body is now under the control and supervision of the Office of the President.
In filing his bill, Alvarez called the Road Board as “just another layer of bureaucracy, which became another avenue for graft and corruption.”
