AMID the multi-billion-peso corruption scandal on flood control projects mostly in Luzon and the Visayas, potential graft-laden projects on road concreting, asphalt over-laying, bridge construction, as well as building schools in various public elementary and secondary educational institutions are either overlooked or intentionally “dumped” down the drain of forgetfulness.
For one, that long completed concrete span connecting Catalunan Grande of the first district and Tacunan of the third district in Davao City. Another is a 30-meter-long unfinished concreting of the road from the Crossing of sitio Banarao and sitio Camanse in Talandang, Tugbok district. The road concreting was from sitio Luman, New Valencia, going up to the Talandang-Banarao road.
The thoroughfare is roughly six meters wide, but very clearly, the width in some stretches barely reaches five meters. The worst part, however, is that an estimated 30 meters of the entire stretch have remained a gravel road. And it is in that portion where the Luman-Camansi road intersects with the concreted Talandang-Banarao Road.
Sadly, the concreting project was reported completed several years back. Unfortunately for us, we could no longer remember who the contractor of the said project was.
Similarly situated is the 15 or so meters long concrete bridge spanning the creek that separates Tacunan and Catalunan Grande. The Tacunan end of the bridge does not have the approach from the Tacunan Road to connect to the long-finished bridge. In the same manner, the Catalunan end of the span is provided with an approach, but it has not been in tangent with the road leading to Catalunan proper.
For the nth time, we have been asking through this space what agencies were responsible for the implementation of the two mentioned projects. Is it the now-perceived notorious Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) or the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) of the local government of Davao City?
Unfortunately, however, we and the rest of the people of Davao City are not given even just an iota of courtesy by the people of both the Regional and District offices of the DPWH, as well as by the CEO. They maintain complete silence on the question we raised. Are the executives of the two agencies of government – local and national – too afraid that by answering the people’s question ,it may open a can of worms?
And there is this other thing that the proponent agencies of both mentioned projects may possibly be extra careful about, the agency concerned is fully aware that the two projects have long been fully paid. So they’d rather not talk about it anymore or stand the risk of getting caught in their mouths.
Of course, compared to the magnitude of the amount involved in the flood control projects, the two mentioned herein are just peanuts. Yet, the fact remains that some personalities involved in its implementation may have benefited one way or the other.
And the amounts involved, large or small, do not really matter. But the two projects, no doubt, are venues for corruption.
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We were all ears to Sen. Panfilo Lacson when he delivered a privileged speech at the Senate session the other day.
In the same speech, the senator, who is a former Director General of the Philippine National Police, exposed in detail the manner in which the shenanigans of what the Senator termed as BGC, not the Bonifacio Global City, but the Bulacan Group of Contractors.
Lacson detailed the speed with which the involved District Engineering Officials processed the payments of an equally lightning-fast supposed completion of the various phases of the flood control projects implemented by the contractors awarded the projects. In fact, in a particular flood control project, the first phase was supposed to be completed in over three months, but was billed as finished in only two days since the work on that particular phase had started. And the payment? Well, the vouchers with all the approving officials, already having signed, were processed, and the check was collected in only a week’s time.
Senator Lacson then proceeded to chronicle the trips of the District Engineering officials led by no less than their boss, Engr. Henry Alcantara, to the various Casinos using assumed names, backed by a driver’s license, the corruption “stakeholders” apparently acquired legitimately.
And Lacson, being a top policeman once, managed to document all his discovered secret schemes of the BGC members. Their individual losses in the different Casinos, their supposed winnings, and how much money they cash in, in exchange for casino chips, and how much they cash out from the chips they purchased.
And the BGC boys have the guts to have a group picture of themselves taken with the Casino façade as background.
Towards the latter part of the senator’s privilege speech, he came out with a kind of bombshell. And that was the exposé of the owners of a firm that is registered as the owner of a construction company with a huge amount of contracts with the DPWH. The holding firm bears the initial MMB. According to the Senator, the initials stand for Maglanque, Mercado, and Bonoan. The last two are those of DPWH Undersecretary Mercado and DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan.
With all those explosive revelations, what are you now, gentlemen and honorable members of the Senate, going to do? Definitely, all eyes and ears of the Filipinos are on you and the Senate in general.
