DPWH chief vows he won’t tolerate corruption

MANILA, Philippines — Public works chief Mark Villar said yesterday he is ready to investigate any of his officials who may be accused of arranging projects for favored contractors – if the accusers can present proof of wrongdoing.

“If anyone has any has evidence I would be more than happy to accept that… So we could conduct our own investigation, to help our own investigation,” Villar said at the inauguration of the first phase of the Manila-Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX) project of the Metro Pacific Tollway Company (MPTC).

He was reacting to information from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) showing CT Leoncio Trading and Construction bagging 333 contracts amounting to almost P13 billion from April 2011 to April 2018. Last year alone, the contractor reportedly secured P4.28 billion worth of contracts.

A senior official of the Department of Public Works and Highways  (DPWH) had allegedly gone to Sorsogon to process contracts for the firm, which turned out to be just a single proprietorship and not a corporation.

“Definitely, we have a zero tolerance policy in this administration and the DPWH is against corruption,” Villar maintained.

One of the recent projects completed by CT Leoncio Trading and Construction was the reconstruction of the P33.58-million 172-meter Otis Bridge in Manila.

He also shrugged off alleged insertions made by the Department Budget and Management (DBM) in the DPWH budget.

“The House deliberations on the budget are still ongoing. Actually there would still be a plenary session in the Senate,” he said.

He also said he is leaving it up to the Senate and House Representatives to decide on the budget of the DPWH. “Ultimately, Congress will (decide) on the budget, we could only recommend. We have no power,” he pointed out.

Villar also said that while he was one of the signatories to the letter expressing support for budget chief Benjamin Diokno, he said he’d rather stay clear of the budget insertion issue as he is not very familiar with it.

“I don’t want to comment on something I don’t know, maybe they have some disagreements about the budget… The Congress has the power of the purse and the budget is on going,” he said.

He is also leaving it up to the two houses of Congress to decide on the call to abolish the Road Board.

The creation of the “Road Board is a law; it requires a law to abolish it. So we have to defer to Congress again.”