A “big criminal syndicate.”
That is how Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson branded the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), blasting its flood control projects as fully funded yet unfinished, a claim that echoed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s own anger upon seeing the real state of DPWH projects firsthand.
Lacson pointed to one glaring scheme in the beleaguered agency: district engineers allegedly borrow contractors’ licenses and then implement the projects themselves.
“Mismong District Engineering Office na ang nagpapatupad, nagpapa-implement ng proyekto. Hinihiram ang lisensya ng kontratista, puwede ko nang sabihin na ang DPWH is a big criminal syndicate,” he said in a radio interview on Wednesday, August 27.
The senator added that lawmakers from both houses of Congress could also be acting as financiers backing the so-called syndicate inside the DPWH.
“Pagdating sa budget deliberation, sa amin sa Senado, approval ng second reading pa lang, bulungan na, parang mag-submit na lang kayo ng written amendment ninyo, walang record,” he noted.
Lacson has been pushing for clearer identification of amendment proponents, as well as accountability for lawmakers on which agencies’ budgets they cut in order to fund their insertions elsewhere.
In the local context
Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso likewise expressed dismay over defective and substandard flood control projects in the capital city amounting to ₱14 billion.
“Bumaha ng pondo sa flood control sa Maynila amounting to ₱14 billion, and yet the people of Manila continue to suffer from flooding,” Domagoso said in a press conference on Wednesday, August 27, as he presented documents of projects from 2022 to 2025.
He added that another 112 flood control projects were lined up for 2025 and carry-over works from 2024, all of which did not undergo proper coordination with the city government.
“There are a little over a hundred contractors doing infra projects from the national government. Of course we will go after them unless they follow the Local Government Code, its provisions, and other existing laws of the City of Manila,” Domagoso warned.
