(Second of a series)
“Sinong nag-iimbestiga ng mga magnanakaw? Kapwa magnanakaw.”
That sentiment shared on social media captures perfectly the mounting public anger and frustration at the continuing exposés on the billions of pesos allegedly wasted on substandard (or worse, nonexistent) flood control projects in the past years.
Not only is the public ready to explode over these allegations, they are also frustrated over what they believe is a concerted effort to whitewash the people who profited the most from the large-scale thievery of public funds.
Concerned sectors – not to mention a few legislators themselves – believe the finger of accountability should be pointed not contractors like Sarah Discaya but on the government officials, particularly on the legislative branch, who received a huge cut of the funds that should’ve been earmarked for ensuring the safety of Filipinos.
‘Small fish’
Let’s take a cue from Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who has expressed his belief that certain officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are now being used as “fall guys” to aid those who are really responsible escape accountability.
Following the arrest of a DPWH official last month for attempting to bribe Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, Lacson claimed that DPWH district officials have become "legmen" and "bagmen" of powerful contractors and/or "funders," or the lawmakers responsible for insertions in the General Appropriations Act.
"DPWH Batangas 1st District Engineer Abelardo Calalo is far from being a 'big fish.' His arrest after a foiled bribery try on Representative Leviste reinforces my theory that some DPWH officials, at least at the district engineering level have already been relegated to being 'legmen' and worse, 'bagmen' of some 'powerful contractors' or 'funders' responsible for the insertions in the budget," the senator said in a statement.
There is a new development on this issue, though. Lawyer Raymond Fortun, counsel of Engineer Calalo, claimed that it was Leviste who asked for the money, and the “donation” came from a contractor whose sponsorship was solicited by Calalo on orders of another congressman, Rep. Jojo Ang of partylist Uswag Ilonggo, himself a contractor.
Lacson even went further by saying that “there may be senators and House members who may be connected to anomalous flood control projects” and that “it is possible that some senators introduce insertions for such projects, and may even profit from the 25-percent share for the 'funder' or proponent of the insertions from the flood control project costs.”
As the “purse-holders” of the government, Congress has the power to control and apportion the budget allocated under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to various government projects and programs.
Following Lacson’s logic, it’s now obvious that some representatives have used and abused that power of the purse to transfer funds to their own pockets.
It’s the whole “Kung walang mananakaw, walang magnanakaw” thing.
‘Ipit ang mga contractors’
But then, how can contractors like Sarah Discaya able to amass millions (and even flaunt that millions on luxury items) if it’s the legislators who get the lion’s share of the funds allocated for infrastructure projects?
To recall, both Lacson and incumbent Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong claim that some legislators receive 25 to 40 percent of the allocated funds for flood-control projects. (OpinYon Laguna sources claim that that figure could go as high up as 50 percent.)
Let’s say out of the P100 million in a flood-control project (based on the allocation for certain projects in San Pedro City), P40 million goes to the legislator who proposed that budget.
Corrupt officials of the DPWH then bag another P25 million from that project.
That leaves contractors with just P35 million to execute that project, and they have to break even or make a profit.
The result: either the project would be substandard, or worse, become a ghost project (as was evidenced in Bulacan, where DPWH officials admitted to certifying as “complete” projects that were never even kickstarted in the first place).
Corruption all the way up?
Sources have also informed OpinYon Laguna that not only do these legislators receive the lions’ share of the kickback on flood-control projects, but the chain of corruption goes all the way up.
According to rumors, not only do legislators receive 30 to 50 percent of the budget for major infrastructure projects, they also have to share at least five percent of that cut to a certain top leader in Congress.
With the growing suspicion that members of both houses of Congress have reportedly sacked the treasury in the guise of budget “insertions,” it’s not surprising that the House leadership’s propaganda machine have put their sights on Discaya and other contractors.
A political analyst who requested anonymity explained it this way: congressmen needed somebody whom the public can vent their anger to, much like what happened during the Napoles scandal in the 2010s.
“Actually, it’s becoming a déjà vu of the Napoles scandal, if the public does not stand guard on this issue,” that analyst warned. “Baka mamaya, sina Discaya lamang ang makukulong dito, while the ones who profited from those ghost flood control projects may actually come across as heroes.”
Senator Lacson couldn’t have said it better when he warned that if those responsible for this massive robbery go unpunished, the government may be committing “a bigger crime against the Filipino people.”
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