Former secretary Singson confirms ‘feelers’; solons want Bonoan out
Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson said yesterday that he has received feelers from Malacañang about returning to his old post, even as he immediately expressed reluctance to accept, should a formal offer materialize.
In a televised interview, Singson said he is far more inclined to accept the job of leading an independent panel that would investigate anomalies in the government’s flood control projects.
“Definitely, may feelers. The President and I go a long way, when he was still a governor [of Ilocos Norte] and then he became a senator. We’ve known each other through quite a lot of [infrastructure] projects. I’m not a stranger to the President,” he told ANC’s Headstart.
As an aside, Singson said his return to the DPWH as its head is unlikely because “my wife will leave me already if I go back to government.”
While he expressed disinterest in leading the DPWH for a second round, Singson said he instead volunteered to lead a probe into the government’s controversial flood control program, a job he would gladly perform for free.
“Of course, I’ve volunteered pro bono,” the former secretary said.
“All of these suggestions, I’ve come out openly about this corruption program only because I have the full backing of the Management Association of the Philippines, private sector executives who say enough is enough,” he added.
An industrial engineer by training, Singson served in the cabinet of President Benigno Aquino III as Secretary of the DPWH from 2010 to 2016.
His statement further bolstered speculation that a top-level revamp in the DPWH may be in the offing.
Last week, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said incumbent DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan still enjoys Mr. Marcos’ trust despite the issues hounding the almost 10,000 flood control projects, of which P545 billion were awarded to only 15 contractors.
Yesterday, however, when asked whether a replacement for Bonoan was being eyed, she said “Hintayin na lang po natin kung anuman desisyon ng Pangulo [Let’s just wait for whatever the President will decide].”
Meanwhile, several lawmakers have called for Bonoan’s resignation amid the scandal surrounding his agency.
Bonoan has said that he serves at the pleasure of the President. He points out that many of the projects under his department have been completed, including those started in the previous administration but only reported as finished during the early years of the current administration.
At the House of Representatives, Kamanggagawa Party-list Rep. Elijah San Fernando yesterday cited Bonoan’s admission that Wawao Builders, one of the 15 contractors mentioned by the President, bagged P9 billion worth of contracts nationwide, including P5.97 billion for 85 projects in Bulacan alone.
The secretary later conceded that many of these are “ghost projects.”
On Wednesday, Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Benitez said that Bonoan should quit out of shame after the President expressed anger over a non-existent P55-million river wall project in Barangay Piel in Baliuag, Bulacan.
As this developed, the city government of Baliwag denied any involvement in the alleged P55-million flood control “ghost project” that the President uncovered during his visit to Barangay Piel.
In a statement yesterday, the reinforced concrete river wall project in Purok 4 was solely implemented, funded, and paid for by the DPWH based on documents from Malacañang.
“This project did not go through the city government, and no documents were submitted to the City Engineering Office, nor was there any coordination or communication with any LGU (local government unit) office,” the statement read.
Mr. Marcos earlier described the project as questionable after reports surfaced that the supposed structure was nonexistent or substandard.
The city government echoed the President’s stance, condemning what it called a “fraudulent project” that wasted public funds.
