“All these demonstrate the administration’s commitment to bring to justice those responsible for massive thievery of the national treasury”
IN HIS 4th State of the Nation Address last July 28, President Marcos Jr. unveiled a web of corruption by the top 15 construction firms that racked up a total of hundreds of billions of pesos from anomalous, substandard and non-existent flood control projects throughout the country.
Since then, eight weeks have passed with the administration taking one decisive step after another to assure the public that such massive corruption will not go unpunished.
For starters, Malacañang created the Isumbong sa Pangulo crowdsourcing website on Aug. 11 that immediately generated more than 16,000 reports of rigged and even ghost flood control projects in various areas.
These reports were to be subjected for immediate review and follow-up investigation.
The Chief Executive then personally inspected more than a dozen flood control projects from the unbuilt P55 million river wall in Barangay Piel, Baliuag, Bulacan, where the project existed only on paper, to delayed and substandard works in Iloilo City.
He ordered swift legal action against the government officials and private contractors responsible for.
The Department of Public Works and Highways ordered the suspension of the licenses of the top 15 contractors that had cornered roughly P100 billion in flood control contracts.
Firms with unsatisfactory Constructors’ Performance Evaluation ratings were disqualified, and the licenses of key offenders, including several companies owned by the Discayas, were revoked, barring them permanently from bidding on government projects.
On Aug. 27, the President directed lifestyle and asset audits for every Cabinet and agency official, beginning with the DPWH.
He also tasked the agencies concerned to inventory vehicles, real estate, aircraft, and vessels linked to 26 officers and contractors, with findings to be shared with the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Department of Justice, Ombudsman, and the ICI for possible money-laundering or graft cases.
On Sept. 1, President Marcos accepted the resignation of DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan and appointed former Department of Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon to head the agency and lead a “full organizational sweep” of the department and restore public trust in infrastructure spending.
Allegations of potential conflicts of interest on the part of the Private Contractors Accreditation Board led to strident calls for a drastic overhaul of the contractor accreditation process.
Acting on a court-issued warrant, the Bureau of Customs and the PNP Highway Patrol Group raided the compound in Pasig City of St. Gerrard Construction, owned by the Discaya couple, and confiscated 12 luxury vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Bentley Bentayga, and Maybach, and later added two more for a total of at least 14 units.
Subsequent seizures brought the tally to 28 high-end cars pending verification of import entries and duties paid.
Newly installed Public Works Secretary Dizon, following internal audit findings, ordered the dismissal of Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara and two senior engineers.
The Ombudsman concurrently issued six-month preventive suspensions without pay for 16 additional Bulacan DPWH officials, from section chiefs to project engineers, to shield ongoing investigations from obstruction.
Through EO 94 signed on Sept. 11, President Marcos Jr. created the Independent Commission on Infrastructure), a three-member fact-finding body chaired by retired Justice Andrés Reyes Jr., with ex-DPWH Sec. Rogelio Singson and CPA Rossana Fajardo as members, empowered with subpoena powers. Within days, the commission began receiving and organizing the thousands of reports of anomalous flood control projects.
Also on Sept. 11, Secretary Dizon lodged the first batch of graft and malversation complaints at the Office of the Ombudsman, supported by COA fraud audit reports and BOC import investigations. Named respondents included engineer Henry Alcantara, the Discaya-owned St. Timothy Construction, and key DPWH staff for violating the Anti-Graft Act and the Procurement Law.
On Sept. 16, the Court of Appeals granted the AMLC’s petition to freeze 135 bank accounts and 27 insurance policies tied to 26 respondents, citing evidence of money laundering schemes that diverted public flood control funds into private coffers.
On Sept. 18, the BSP capped over-the-counter cash withdrawals at P500,000 per day, mandating that larger payouts be routed through checks, fund transfers, or digital payments.
Transactions exceeding the cap now trigger enhanced due diligence and, if necessary, suspicious transaction reporting, an anti-money-laundering measure first activated in the flood control probe.
All these demonstrate the administration’s commitment to bring to justice those responsible for massive thievery of the national treasury, with more heads likely to roll in the weeks ahead.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
