“All that has to be done if the government really wants to eradicate corruption is to simply change the rotten system of fund allocation and farcical government bidding process”
THE current brouhaha about the government’s flood control projects is being treated as if the shenanigans that were exposed by the Office of the President are something new when in fact, flood control projects have always been riddled with corruption and are actually old stories.
Almost everyone seems to have developed a sudden case of amnesia.
Remember that news several years ago about a DBM Secretary releasing about P350 million to relatives in Southern Luzon whose town did not have any flooding problem?
That story raised a raucous but nothing happened and in fact the fellow was given the highest paying government position and is now apparently secure in another government position.
The way the loot is being divided is also widely known.
Thirty per cent actually going to the project as one mayor is claiming is in fact big and as everyone also knows, cuts are collected in advance.
This is one of the reasons why the projects end up being substandard.
In fact, many projects end up being “ghost projects” because the completion are only on paper.
That shoddy work on one flood control project in Bulacan says it all and this goes true in other public work projects like roads and bridges.
It is just a few months ago when a very expensive bridge in northern Luzon simply collapsed because of poor engineering work.
In the matter of roads, the iconic Kennon Road is a good example.
It is in a state of permanent repair. And due to the recent rains, the road sustained damages that might be closed again in about two years.
True, there are now very loud voices that even include the President demanding action but if history has anything to tell us, it is that this effort will once again fail like other past attempts.
There is also the matter of those people demanding action.
As the saying goes, when one goes to court, that person must do it with clean hands. And how many of those demanding action have clean hands?
This is not to say that no one has clean hands among them because there are indeed always a few people who do have clean hands but they are not too many and, often, drowned by the corrupt system.
The comments of Senator Ping Lacson about those lawmakers who gave PBBM a prolonged applause and standing ovation during his SONA are indeed telling.
Since the good Senator is a member of Congress and knows what he is talking about, what is currently going on in the senate floor must therefore be what we call “moro-moro.”
One reason why corruption in flood control projects is not in the line of fire is because most of the projects are not too visible to the public, unlike our roads and bridges which the public use every day.
Unless it is exposed like what PBBM did by specifically mentioning the contractors, the issue could have been easily buried by denials.
This is the reason why much of the pork barrel money is parked in flood control projects and the amount mentioned. about P849 billion, is so staggering it boggles the imagination.
With only 15 contractors cornering this amount, a simple calculation will give us an idea on how much really goes to the projects.
If only 25 percent goes to the actual project, the amount comes to only P212.25 billion. The rest, which is P636.75 billion, goes to kickbacks.
Since funds for flood control projects are mostly controlled by national lawmakers, the focus of attention is now on them.
But there are many participants in the flood control racket like the DPWH, the reason why it would be very interesting to see how the blame will be distributed and whether there will be sacrificial lambs and who will they be.
There is actually no more need for all these congressional hearings.
All that has to be done if the government really wants to eradicate corruption is to simply change the rotten system of fund allocation and farcical government bidding process.
But maybe all these investigations are being done for other reasons. We will soon be able to see as the show progresses.
