Newly-appointed Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon, who is also the former Transportation chief, has what it takes to succeed in the embattled department, as he has demonstrated a strong political will and consummate competence in his previous roles, a former Cabinet official of the Aquino administration said Monday.
Former Department Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Jose De Jesus, who also once held the Transportation portfolio, said Dizon had to leave his post as DOTr chief to tackle the new presidential assignment given to him, so he could break free from the tangled issues of corruption that have left the country bleeding with multi-billion pesos on flood control money, and leaving many communities drowning in flood waters.
De Jesus enumerated only two major problems Dizon has to deal with as he performs his new duties as Public Works Secretary. One: He must resolutely deal with politicians who, by habit or by design, would require “cuts” from the public works budget; two: effectively manage the construction projects, meeting deadlines and allocating and protecting the budget to the projects themselves.
In a statement, De Jesus said there are lessons to be learned. “In my case, I was formerly the Public Works Secretary of the late and former President Corazon C. Aquino. Through the solid backing of former President Cory, we implemented crucial infrastructure building projects for her newly installed administration.”
There were also political pressures even then, de Jesus said, but “I had the fortune of being solidly backed by President Cory, and I simply shrugged off the pressures and did my job.”
De Jesus said he hopes Dizon will have the solid and visible support of the President, so he would be shielded from the slings and arrows coming from politicians who have not dropped the habit of getting cuts from construction budgets.
