In the eyes of so many Filipinos the DPWH has overtaken the Bureau of Customs, the Department of Education and the Bureau of Immigration as the most corrupt institutions in the Philippines government.
The Cabinet department that is mandated to provide the nation with its infrastructural facilities has an imposing name—Department of Public Works and Highways, abbreviated to DPWH. But in the wake of the findings of the Congressional Investigation into the handling of the government’s flood control program, the department’s name should be changed to Department of Public Worst and Heistways.
The reason for this name change is that today’s DPWH has been shown by the investigations to be the worst DPWH – until the Marcos I administration it was simply the Department of Public Works—in the history of this country and to be a den of heist experts.
On the basis of what the Congressional investigations have this far uncovered, it is not an injustice to say that the resigned Manuel Bonoan is one of the worst heads that DPWH has ever had. Like all chief executive officers, DPWH head Manuel Bonoan should have known – having make it his business to keep himself informed – about the myriad of nefarious activities that were taking place in his domain. But throughout the Congressional investigations he maintained an innocent, I–didn’t-know-that-those-things-were-happening stance. As individual like that has no business setting in a CEO’s chair.
All major projects—the ones with at least eight- figure price tag definitely qualify as major projects – should have been reviewed by the Secretary of Public Works and Highways, but, as shown by the Congressional investigations, Bonoan did not review the decision-making of the heads and other officials of the various DPWH engineering districts. Bonoan failed to take the measures necessary to stop the heist – like operations of the DPWH officials interrogated by the Senators and Representatives.
Yes, what has been taking place at the DPWH for a long time—the rigged biddings, the awarding of projects to grossly undercapitalized, favored contractors, the acceptance of end payment for uncompleted and ghost projects and the pay-off to insertion-minded legislators—are —heists of the people’s money. The connivers are highwaymen. Alternatively, DPWH could be renamed the Department of Public Worst and Highwaymen.
It has been said that it is not possible for this country to have a first-rate Secretary of Public Works and Highways. Those who say so are wrong. The department in the past has been headed by top-notch individuals like Dr. Alfredo Juinio, (Marcos I term), Jose de Jesus (Cory Aquino’s term) and Rogelio Singson (Benigno Aquino III’s term). Men of competence integrity and love of country.
In the eyes of so many Filipinos the DPWH has overtaken the Bureau of Customs, the Department of Education and the Bureau of Immigration as the most corrupt institutions in the Philippines government. The Independent Commission of Infrastructure has an enormous job ahead of it.
In the meantime, how about the above-suggested name change for the DPWH?
(llagasjessa@yahoo.com)
