BY ALEX ALAGON
WE ARE not one of those who favored incumbent President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. However, we also cannot believe how easily some Filipinos are convinced to believe “disgraced” former Partylist Congressman Zaldy Co’s claim that Marcos, Jr. caused the insertion of some P100 billion worth of projects in the 2025 national budget.
For us, the claim is very preposterous. Common sense tells those who are willing to dig deeper into the budgeting process that the chief executive can very well do it when the National Expenditure Program (NEP) is being prepared. So, why would he wait for the budget bill to get reviewed by the Bicameral Committee and have the insertions done during the said process?
Besides, it was the President during his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) who exposed the prevalence of corruption-laden projects undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at the behest of several Congressmen. Why would he make himself vulnerable to the repercussions?
On another, Co made his charges to the President months after the SONA, and his having been pinpointed as the leading lawmaker in the insertion scheme. He also alleged the President’s involvement while he is making himself beyond the reach of the investigators of the graft-tainted flood control projects.
We believe, though, that Co can provide some degree of credibility to his claim if he comes back to the Philippines and reiterates his charges against the President either in the hearings conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee or directly to the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).
He should disprove the common saying that “Flight is an indication of guilt.”
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We viewed with amazement our friend Romy Sabaldan’s vlog on the ongoing construction of the Samal Island-Davao City (SIDC) connector bridge project. In his post, Romy mentioned the possibility that with the way the construction goes, the multi-billion-peso bridge, targeted to be completed by 2028, may already be finished and used by 2027.
Viewing Romy’s vlog, we agree to his assumption that the bridge may be completed before the target year of completion.
We, however, are having some apprehensions. While the project is funded by a loan from China and constructed by a Chinese construction company, the ongoing dynamics between the present Philippine leader and his immediate predecessor on one hand, and between the apparently “strained” relations between the Philippine and Chinese governments on the other, might affect the project implementation, adversely at that.
Most Davaoeños, if not all, are hoping that the SIDC bridge project will be isolated from the political and diplomatic squabbles now raging in the Philippines.
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Davao City is putting up a P1.5 billion trust fund for the efficient operation of the local government’s Transport Modernization Program.
Yes, the trust fund has to be put up because, from what we learned, under the program, the buses ferrying passengers to and from designated destinations will not be collecting fares. So, without the trust fund, the Modernization Program will have no ready source of money for maintenance of the vehicles and for the program’s overall operation.
We can only hope that the trust fund will be managed well so that the money in it will not be “flown in cash” by some “innovative” fund managers.
Meanwhile, we are wondering how legitimate public utility franchise holders with vehicles plying the routes to be taken by the buses operated by the city government will confront a major forthcoming problem. The franchisees are well aware that they will be facing competition that can derail their transportation business.
We would not be surprised if, after the full operation of the Transport Modernization Program, financing companies will be busy filing replevin cases against the operators who failed to pay the monthly amortization of their units.
