“Don’t expect anything from these congressional investigations”
Newly re-assigned Vince Dizon was fuming in righteous anger when he visited another ghost project, this time in Plaridel, Bulacan, named after the hero of Filipino journalists, the great Marcelo H. del Pilar.
“Hindi tao” ang mga ito, “kahayupan ang ginawa nila.”
On the spot, he announced the dismissal of the high living district engineer who admitted to signing approval of ghost projects, and the permanent blacklisting of a “construction” firm curiously called Wawao.
Vince thinks on his feet, and acts with deliberate speed, the perfect fit to head a department which has been moored in “kahayupan.”
Another fact unearthed is that the useless but hugely overpriced projects are not just small committee or bicam insertions, many are embedded in the NEP, otherwise known as “the president’s budget.”
I have repeatedly been pointing this out. The “kuntsabahan” starts from the time the district engineers prepare their submissions which the DPWH central office compiles during the DBM’s budget call.
And the modus is rotten from the start.
The DE connives with the district congressman, at times even a senator, and together they figure out how to divide the 100 percent pie if ghost, and 60-70 percent for the sub-standard projects.
Correction: perhaps the legislator does not approve of “ghosts;” most likely the “sugapa” DEs welcome ghosts because of their insatiable lust for money.
A “maven” ties it all together, this time in connivance with DBM officials, as he did in previous governments, also for a slice of the pie.
Everybody in the project chain, from contractor to COA, to inspectors who sign at each step, to higher-ups in the DPWH who must “see no evil” must be made happy, most especially the “funder/proponent” who made sure the funds are appropriated accordingly.
In fine, built-in na sa NEP, with the DEs identifying the “flood-prone” areas, like Bulacan, where since pre-martial law, my maternal aunt, Malolos Mayor Purificacion Crisostomo Reyes was busy distributing relief goods every rainy season.
And since Lake Naujan straddles four towns in Oriental Mindoro, pwede rin, because people are used to floods.
In a new twist to the sordid saga, Toby Tiangco exposed another “modus” – the district legislator does not propose, but his district is mysteriously “funded” by the small committee, the bicam, or just one almighty legislator, in the billions, including those for “ghosts.”
A reporter assigned to the HoR asked Tiangco what was wrong with the “modus,” “makikinabang naman ang distrito,” or words to that effect. He/she misses the fact, either because he/she is a simpleton, or he/she is “funded” likewise.
Not until the floods sweep away the contraptions or discover the ghosts do people in the district complain, not their parish priest, not their local officials. They are either happy with periodic “donations,” or are afraid of the proponent.
As we wrote in previous columns, systematic corruption has become systemic.
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But don’t expect anything from these congressional investigations.
In the HoR, it is an obvious “cover-up,” a la Napoles. Damn the contractor/s, but spare their colleagues.
In the Senate, damn the contractor/s, the DPWH officials involved, but make sure colleagues are “untouched.” Just watch how the senators out-talk each other in condemning the fall guys while protecting their “unsullied” reputations.
As Antonio Banderas in “Evita” sang, “Oh what a circus, oh what a show…”
Which is why we anxiously await the formation of an independent investigative group that PBbM has announced.
In a previous column we said “BbM should appoint BBM,” referring to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Banez Magalong, a retired PNP-CIDG director who has taken it upon himself to lead a crusade for good governance.
Add Rogelio “Babes” Singson who excelled as DPWH secretary during the PNoy administration.
Then add an auditor in the mold of former COA commissioner Heidi Mendoza, whose probity and competence no less than the United Nations has tapped.
Give them a technical working group composed of bright young lawyers, accountants, and engineers as researchers and ground investigators.
Grant them subpoena powers for both persons and documents, with their investigations made public and fully transparent.
If the president really wants to get to the bottom of this horrendous mess that has caused so much loss of lives and property, and made our country an international embarrassment, he should give such a commission all the necessary powers and resources to credibly complete their task.
Meanwhile, for the many, including fellow legislators who are wondering about the whereabouts of their colleague, Ako Bicol’s Zaldy Co, they may well sing “Mamacita, donde esta Santa Claus?” – as the holiday season beckons and their wallets groan.
