By Leonardo Micua

 

WHAT I understand from Senator Ping Lacson, Senate Pro Tempore and Blue Ribbon  Committee chairman, in an interview with him by the media, is that insertions under the “unappropriated funds” item in the national budget are not illegal.

What is illegal, he said, is when legislators who made the alleged insertions profited from the projects by receiving kickbacks from unscrupulous and greedy contractors for ghost and substandard flood control projects.

He suspects that the alleged insertions were done when the House-approved proposed annual budget was submitted to the Senate, at a time when the latter body was scrutinizing it, or during the bicameral conference committee meeting of the two houses of Congress.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, as well as Senator Joel Villanueva, have been named to be among those who made those insertions, amounting to P355 million and P600 million, respectively, which allegedly jibed with the earlier oral testimony of dismissed  Bulacan District Engineer Brice Hernandez during a House hearing presided by Rep. Terry Rendon.

In another bombshell at the Blue Ribbon committee hearing on Tuesday, former Bulacan District  Engineer Henry Alcantara finally broke his silence when he read his affidavit that also named Estrada, Villanueva plus Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and former Caloocan Rep Cajayon-Uy as receiving kickbacks from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)  projects. Former Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. was also mentioned.

These four are now facing complaints of graft and malversation of public funds before the Department of Justice upon the recommendation of the National Bureau of Investigation.

In another bombshell, former DPWH Usec Roberto Bernanrdo implicated Senator Chiz Escudero, former Senators Nancy Binay and Revilla and Rep Zaldy Co to the flood contract mess.

We learned that, upon the advice of new Speaker Faustino Dy, the House has already wound up its investigation into the flood control mess to give way to the investigation of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) created by President Bongbong Marcos. This is good because it would be inappropriate if the congressmen were investigating their own.

Senator Lacson is also poised to wrap up his committee hearings, but two more sessions are scheduled with more bombshells expected to be heard.

The whole nation is watching.

Unfortunately, the ICI hearings are held closed doors with just brief updates provided to the media from time to time by its chairman, and even by Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong, ICI special consultant and investigator.

Appalled by tons and tons of money allegedly delivered by contractors to public officials, the people already expressed their outrage and condemnation during their mammoth rallies in several parts of Metro Manila and key cities on September 21, coinciding with the 53rd anniversary of the proclamation of martial law.

They warned of bigger rallies and louder cries of disgust if no one is held accountable for all this mess.

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 We heard that all 24 flood control projects built by the DPWH in Dagupan City were accounted for, in good order, and serving the purpose for which they were intended. 

 A team formed by Mayor Belen Fernandez, with her as its head, found this out during a day-long inspection and validation, using the coordinates, latitude and longitude, provided in the data from the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website.

 Assisted by barangay captains and residents, the team validated what Rep. Gina de Venecia earlier claimed, that there are no ghost or substandard flood control projects in the Fourth District of Pangasinan. 

 But why is flooding still occurring in Dagupan? It is because the flood protection dikes of the Pantal River are not yet complete or enough to secure Dagupan from onrushing floodwaters from the Sinocalan River. Another factor is that Dagupan is really below sea level and prone to being affected by high tide.

 Fernandez appealed to Manay Gina and the DPWH to lobby for more funds from the national government to finally complete the river protection wall of the Pantal River.

 But sadly, the budget for flood control projects in next year’s General Appropriations Act will be scrapped, impacted by the flood control mess now being probed by both chambers of Congress and the ICI.

 The opposition in Dagupan (if it still exists), including Atty. Alvin Fernandez and Councilor Dada Reyna, may do what the team of Mayor Belen did. They could just get out of their comfort zone one day and inspect all these structures instead of going to social media to cast doubts on these projects.