IS THE president serious about getting to the bottom of corruption as legislated in the 2025 budget and before?
In his latest podcast, he declared that those “allies” who engaged in corruption are no longer his allies. In his latest State of the Nation Address, he directly called on perpetrators of such corruption to be ashamed of themselves (Mahiya naman kayo!).
After his return from India, he listed down the biggest contractors who cornered the bulk of flood control projects, with some of the most flood-prone regions and provinces not “blessed” with the budgetary allocations by Congress when it mangled his National Expenditure Program.
A senator who has shunned pork barrel entitlements throughout all the years he had been in the “august” chamber, Ping Lacson, has been exposing the many shenanigans that have bled taxpayer money dry, and even caused deaths among the unfortunate.
In the 2025 “most corrupt” budget that raised the hackles of the president himself, our legislators even “stole” money from PhilHealth and parked the loot into unprogrammed allocations for later release to their pet projects in “collab” with their handpicked DPWH district engineers.
The abuses and humongous greed of many officials cry to the highest heavens for investigation and thereafter, punitive action. Nothing less will satisfy the suffering people, let alone bring appreciation from the heavens (as if our politicians care).
A Task Force to investigate and expose corruption in the way taxpayer money is absconded by the uber-greedy should be created and given full authority to do its job and come up with real recommendations.
It should not involve a Tricomm where, after a series of high-profile investigations by the “usual suspects” including another from the leftist fringe, the mountains will labor to come up with a mouse.
An executive order by the president will suffice. And his sincerity in ferreting the truth can be immediately judged on the basis of who will lead the investigations.
Spare none of the contractors, and more, spare none of the government officials, whether in the legislature or local government units and in departments and agencies as well — let the axe fall where it must.
And President BbM should appoint Mayor BBM to undertake the investigation. That would be the signal of sincere intent.
I know of no one in the country with the principles, determination, the investigative skills, and the clinical fairness needed for the responsibility than Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Banez Magalong, whose public service career both as a PNP officer and as LGU official gives him the proper credentials for this important task at this time.
When he was asked by then President Benigno S. Aquino III to investigate the modus operandi of corrupt officials of the National Irrigation Administration, he did so with no fanfare, and came out with a report too factual that PNoy fired the NIA administrator right before the agency employees assembled for the commemoration of its anniversary.
BBM has done wonders as mayor of the summer capital despite a paucity of resources, with proper planning, excellent monitoring by his young and motivated staff, and consistent implementation.
In spearheading the Mayors for Good Governance, BBM has been courageously exposing the sub-standard and overpriced projects undertaken by greedy officials, from thinly-paved roads to slope-protection devices that are unable to save lives and property from landslides, to excessive overpricing in street lights and uselessly redundant cat-eyes.
He has been vocal against the 7-7-7 million bonus for mere attendance in Bagong Pilipinas extravaganzas, plus 9-9-9 million to the more active legislators, and 30-30-30 million for those whose cities or capitals host the events.
These are for soft, ayuda giveaways in the form of MAIP, AICS, and TUPAD, recently spiced with the addition of AKAP in the 2025 budget.
It was BBM who estimated, based on confessions of contractors leery of the excessive “tongpats” that politicians get as much as 40 percent of the budgeted outlay for infrastructure projects, with only a third of the outlay being used for actual construction.
Whether in “hard” pork or “soft” pork, the people get royally screwed.
As BbM said, “Mahiya naman kayo!”
Now if BbM is true to his newly found “crusade,” he should issue an executive order creating that investigative task force and appoint BBM to head it, forthwith.
