THE ONGOING investigation conducted by the House of Representatives on the anomalous and graft-laden flood prevention projects is turning into a venue where the meaning of “leading” and “misleading” questions is postulated to attain an advantageous position for the investigating lawmakers.
Of course, the questions will humiliate the officials and contractors who are serving as resource persons. But, in the end, they will still be able to save their skin. What with the intention of the probe as to draw inputs from the involved contractors “in aid of legislation.”
After all, history will tell Filipinos rarely do probes on clearly anomalous government projects that have led to the formal filing of criminal cases against those concerned. If at all, there is one or two. More likely, these investigations have been conveniently dumped in the silence of the recesses of the canals of forgotten memories. Remember the infamous Pharmally deal only a few years back?
Oh yes, these leading and misleading questions are coming to basically similar intentions. The members of the House conducting the investigation are observed to be asking questions to resource persons that appear more like a guide for them on how and what to answer. At the same time, the answers to the questions end up keeping the lawmakers safe from being implicated in the alleged anomalous deals even by implication.
In this manner, the resource persons are given so much flexibility in phrasing their answers that they can get out of the rut. Yet, nowhere in their answers can they potentially endanger the exposure of the lawmakers who may have benefited, or even collected mana in advance from the contracted projects.
And come to think of it, even congressmen or senators appear to be well-entrenched that they seem beyond the reach of being invited as resource persons in any hearing of Congress where their inputs on certain burning issues are considered extremely vital.
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Well now, it looks like the luxurious living of the Discaya couple is bound to a steep dive. The government is now running after their high-end properties like their imported vehicles. Also, the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board or PCAB cancelled the licenses of nine construction firms identified to be owned by the Discayas.
And soon, if the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) find questionable schemes in their acquisition of the imported vehicles and the Discaya’s manipulation of their taxable income, then it would likely be the start of their major lifestyle adjustment.
Of course, there is no doubt that the Discayas may have stashed some of their “easy-earned” money in the banks. But with their nine construction businesses out of commission after the PCAB’s action, their financial inflows may no longer be coming to their coffers like the flood waters rushing through the “ghost,” destroyed, or unfinished flood control projects.
It is easy to imagine the humiliation and the disgrace the mentioned contractor family is now suffering. But we believe they can still redeem themselves even a little. All they need to do is be bold enough to reveal the names of the congressmen, the senators, DPWH, and other government officials who facilitated their supposed winning bids of the multi-billion-peso flood control projects.
Yes, the Disacayas have to be courageous to take the risks in the same way they have risked getting exposed for their questionable wealth when they allowed themselves to be interviewed by two nationally known vloggers where they proudly flaunted their luxurious lifestyle.
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Frankly, we believe that Congress is so preoccupied with probing the flood prevention projects that it has missed out on some other potentially graft-laden projects in many cities and provinces.
We are referring to the shift in lighting the streets in both the urban centers, and even in the rural areas and the highlands, not yet reached by the power grid. Today, both sides of urban roads are lined with solar lamps. The cost of acquiring the solar light with a built-in solar panel, the 5-inch diameter steel pipes used as poles, and labor cost in installing the same is reported at the range of P20,000 or just a little less. The cost is reported to be overpriced by more than 100 percent.
We are certain this solar street lighting project is being undertaken all over the Philippines. Why haven’t any of our Congressmen all over the Philippines trained their eyes on this project?
We are sure that most of these are funded through the so-called “insertions” in the government’s National Expenditure Program.
