Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s exposé on anomalous flood control projects has set off renewed fact-finding missions from journalists and the public alike.
Speaking on DZRH News’ Special on Saturday on August 23, Lacson noted that ghost and substandard projects flagged in his investigation were later verified on the ground.
“Totoo nga. After ng privilege speech, sunod-sunod ang mga members ng media, sinadya mismo ang mga lugar na sinabi ko, at vinerify kung talagang may ghost project doon, kung merong substandard materials doon,” he said.
Lacson stressed that citizen engagement is crucial in exposing irregularities.
“‘Yung mga netizens, very active. Kapag meron silang nakita o narinig na remarks, agad-agad fina-fact check nila,” he said, adding that such vigilance puts pressure on government to act on anomalies.
He also pushed for the expansion of the sumbongsapangulo.ph website, which currently accepts reports on flood control projects.
“Sana, hindi lang ma-limit sa flood control projects. Sana ma-expand na ito to include all infrastructure projects kung saan may direct line ang publiko sa Office of the President para mai-report ang kanilang mga namo-monitor,” Lacson said.
The senator emphasized that transparency in budget insertions is a key step in curbing corruption.
“Napakaimportante nitong resolution kung saan isama sa full-disclosure sa full transparency ng deliberasyon ang identities ng mga proponents ng insertions… madaling maturo kung pumalpak ang implementasyon, matutukoy natin kung sino ang congressman o sino ang senador,” he said.
Lacson also warned of entrenched collusion between lawmakers and district engineers.
He cited reports that some legislators receive as much as 25 percent of project funds as a “funder’s share,” sometimes even advanced by contractors through the district engineer.
“Minsan nga, ang balita namin, ina-advance pa ‘yung 25%… kontribusyon na ng mga suking contractor,” he revealed.
He added that some district engineers have resorted to borrowing contractors’ licenses to shield themselves from accountability in ghost projects.
“Nag-aalala sila… baka tinamaan ang kanilang lisensya kung saan naimplementa ang ghost projects,” he said, noting that this highlights the risks faced by legitimate builders caught in the scheme.
Lacson also said by pointing to manipulation of project costs and thresholds that allow anomalies to persist.
He explained that district engineers often “spread” multi-billion peso allocations across several smaller projects to keep them within their approval limits, avoiding scrutiny from regional and central DPWH offices.
They then appoint allied project engineers and inspectors to maintain control of oversight within the same network.
“Kaya nga sabi ni President Bongbong, imposible ‘yang magkakalapit na barrio o iisang barangay, bakit eksaktong amount,” Lacson said, citing flood control projects awarded with identical costs despite differences in scope and location.
