The Quezon City government on Sunday extended its full cooperation with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) as it buckles down to work and fulfill President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s goal to stamp out corruption in flood control projects nationwide.
“Quezon City is ready to cooperate and help in all steps of the way of the Commission to ensure that the projects being pushed by the government would truly protect and improve the life of every Filipino,” it said in a statement.
The Philippines’ largest city led by Mayor Joy Belmonte also supported the official designation of Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong as special adviser of the ICI, describing him as “a staunch advocate of truth and good governance.”
“As one of the convenors of Mayors for Good Governance, he (Magalong) has consistently shown courage in exposing irregularities and determination in pushing for reforms that genuinely serve the public,” the QC government said.
Earlier, Belmonte bared only two out of 254 flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Quezon City had been approved by the local government.
The rest of the projects worth P14.24-billion were either disapproved or tagged as incomplete due to lack of certificates of coordination under the Local Government Code.
Belmonte, the national chairperson of the League of Cities of the Philippines, said she is convinced there were anomalous projects in the city.
“We have full confidence that he (Magalong) could greatly help in the investigation, especially in clarifying the role of a local government unit in the existing trend in flood control projects,” the Quezon City government said.
“Ultimately, we only have one goal — to ensure that each project would be beneficial to the citizens, and that no Filipino family should suffer every time there is heavy rain just because of badly done project,” it added.
Every single cent in public funds must be returned to the people through honest service, it noted.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “Belmonte ‘convinced’ of anomalous flood control projects in QC.”
