BROKEN DREAMS AND DISCONNECTED DOTS

There’s a disconnect between President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to probe the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for corruption vis-à-vis the Senate’s findings of congressional insertions in the infrastructure budget.

This was the budget which the former leadership of the House tried to pass off not just as legitimate, but also moral.

In his normal, the President had quickly exculpated DPWH Secretary Mark Villar from possible corruption. He directed the probe to look at possible anomalies down in the contracts, suspecting “under the table” deals that tarnish the government’s infra projects. But on that level only?

We know these are recurring stories since government projects were invented. But the President’s statement immediately clearing

Villar — if he really wants the DPWH cleansed — limits the probers’ room to look at the agency, if a body would.

These statements by the President have actually become chronic. We’ve heard them before when he cleared those personalities spat out of the Bureau of Customs and PhilHealth, among others. But yes, some things come back even when they’re not welcome.

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. has proposed the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Senate conduct parallel probes on the “grave” corruption in the agency.

He did not mention the House of Representatives, though. It turns out as a convenient omission.

Barzaga, who openly supported Alan Peter Cayetano’s bid to stay in his post until he was ousted as House Speaker last week, said the Senate and the

NBI are both in a better position to hold credible probes into the alleged unabated and widespread corruption within the DPWH that the President has been complaining about.

He said it would be impossible for Villar “to monitor effectively the projects, and therefore he has to rely on his regional directors and district engineers in the entire country.”

Keeping the DPWH corruption-free is still Villar’s job, however. There should be no excuses.

If Villar can accommodate lawmakers’ requests for their projects to be funded, he can keep watch where these projects are actually being built. And if the funds meant for them are used efficiently, effectively and honestly.

He has both the time and resources to do all these. Leading an important government agency like the DPWH is not limited to photo opportunities at big-ticket projects, which are privately initiated, like the TPLEX (Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway), for example. But his photographs looked good when he toured them — finger pointed upward, sideward, and all.

Yes, hands down.

Barzaga’s comment to the President’s wish is also misdirected. He has his House to scan and boom; he could see what Mr. Duterte had missed.

The Senate need not be told to look farther, too. It knows that Cayetano and his allies have left President Rodrigo Duterte’s flagship “Build, Build, Build (BBB)” projects “mangled and unrecognizable.”

It found the lawmakers’ insertion of numerous local infrastructure programs gnawing at the BBB fund.

Senator Panfilo Lacson questioned the increase in allocations for local infrastructure programs, which have taken over the BBB projects among the

DPWH priorities.

Lacson said some House members may have lobbied for their local infrastructure projects in the DPWH’s itemized explanation of the P396 billion lump sum in its 2021 budget.

Barzaga knows these projects fueled the ouster of Cayetano last Monday, hastening the takeover by Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco as Speaker two days ahead of the 14 October transfer of power earlier brokered by the President.

Some House officials claimed Cayetano favored his closest allies in the budget allocations.

But the infrastructure projects of the ousted speaker and his wife Lani in Taguig City — yes, they split Taguig’s two congressional districts — are receiving the most if the 2021 GAB would be approved as is.

Lacson noted a “pattern” in the increase of local projects funding in the addendum, saying: “It appears that when DPWH belatedly submitted the NEP (National Expenditure Program) last 7 September, what we see is a mangling of the entire appropriations of the agency in the total amount of P666,474,289,000 beyond recognition.”

“We can no longer recognize it. Did the late submission involve intervention by some legislators or was it entirely the DPWH’s own doing?” Lacson asked.

He noted that budget for the general administration and support went down by P477.123 million, while support to operations increased by 22.791 billion, and payments for Rightof-Way were hiked by P24.033 billion.

Lacson also observed the network development, which consists of road widening and construction of primary, secondary and tertiary roads, went down by P21 billion; bridge program funding was cut by P6.5 billion; flood management program dipped by P4.5 billion and asset preservation by 9.8 billion.

For the local programs, the DPWH’s latest submission increased by P52.847 billion. Under the original DPWH budget, local programs were only funded with P176 billion. But in the addendum, it was hiked to P229.006 billion.

“A lot was deducted from the BBB. Now they’re mostly local. National roads and bridges will be poorly funded. So, what happened?” Lacson asked again.

“We even saw funding for multi-purpose buildings… around P67 billion,” he added.

We need not look far.

The Cayetano couple’s Taguig City is constructing and/or rehabilitating 53 multi-purpose buildings in its two districts.

These are worth a total P3,984,861,000.

Taguig City alone is getting nearly P10 billion from the DPWH’s 2021 budget.

They are also building the Cayetano

Sports Complex in Barangay Bagumbayan for P212,500,000.

It’s no secret that Villar and Cayetano are both members of the Nacionalista Party.

Barzaga, although he leads the National

Unity Party, is an ally of the ousted speaker.

That’s where the dots connect.

Our senators could start from there. They can comb the submitted House version of the budget, look for these insertions and take them off the lists.

The NBI can focus on Barzaga’s push to have the deals reviewed.

The new House leadership under Speaker Lord Allan Velasco should have cleansed its ranks of these transactions made by Cayetano with his supporters.

Only then can we hope that Duterte’s promised change has come, indeed.

“Our senators could start from there. They can comb the submitted House version of the budget, look for these insertions and take them off the lists.

“If Villar can accommodate lawmakers’ requests for their projects to be funded, he can keep watch where these projects are actually being built.