A party-list legislator on Sunday called for investigations into probable anomalous projects in Mindanao.
“All infrastructure projects should be investigated not only in Luzon but also in Mindanao,” Akbayan party-list Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismulah stressed.
“This is important, especially with reports that the Dutertes bagged a whopping P51 billion for infrastructure projects in a single district alone in Davao City,” she added.
Resigned Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral earlier told the House Committee on Infrastructure that Davao City’s first district, under Rep. Paolo Duterte had received P51 billion in infrastructure funds over three years of the administration of his father, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte.
The funds were reflected in the General Appropriations Act for 2020, 2021 and 2022, Ismulah said.
The lady lawmaker underscored the need to conduct a probe on the infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration.
“The people’s anger is about to get into its extreme. The people’s anger is nearing boiling point. This is a warning and a promise to the Dutertes, especially impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, that their legacy of corruption, on top of their legacy of killings, will face its day of reckoning. Digong is already in prison. They will follow,” Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña said.
Cendaña said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will not be spared from public scrutiny.
“This is also a strong reminder to the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that if he fails to hold everyone accountable for this scandal, including his closest allies, then he should not be surprised if the people’s full anger shifts towards against him,” he said.
Ismulah, Cendaña, and fellow Akbayan Rep. Chel Diokno, along with Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, known as the Akbayan Reform Bloc in Congress, joined Sunday’s massive protest at the EDSA People Power Monument against the raging flood control scandal.
“We are against all forms of corruption whether they are attributed to the Dutertes or the Marcoses. Our tactical and strategic calls are grounded in political realities. Together with the people, we make our demands based on our own terms and the correct reading of the situation, not on the dictates of a rival dynasty seeking to replace another,” Cendaña said.
“We must ensure that this betrayal of trust by corrupt officials and their cohorts are punished to the fullest extent of the law and that the billions of pesos they have stolen are fully recovered and returned to the people,” he added.
