Blue Ribbon hearings to continue despite new probe body

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigation on flood control corruption will continue despite President Marcos’ creation of an inde pendent commission, Senate President Pro Tempore Pan filo Lacson said yesterday. “The Senate Blue Ribbon probe and the work of the independent commission are complementary. They won’t compete with each other,” Lacson said.

With his first hearing as new Blue Ribbon chairman set for Sept. 18, Lacson promised to have a “blindfold mentality” to the alleged involvement in flood control project kickbacks of Sena-tors Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, as alleged by sacked Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez.

“I have always adopted a blindfold mentality. It is not right to be partial, much less to cover up for someone, because that will disrupt the investigation,” Lacson said.

“Because if you investigate, you exclude no one and you don’t become selective. If you do, then what is the investigation for?” he added.

Lacson said the hearing not only would provide evidence that could be used by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), it could also result in the crafting of legislation requiring the disclosure of budget insertion proponents’ names as an anti-corruption measure.

“Let me emphasize that the committee’s ongoing inquiry is in aid of legislation and does not intend to target any senator or congressman, particularly Sen. Jinggoy Estrada,” Lacson said of his colleagues tagged in the controversy.

DPWH ‘obligation’ fees

Meanwhile, Lacson yesterday exposed another moneymaking scheme in the DPWH, this time involving junior personnel who charge contractors per page of bidding documents.

The “juniors” at the District Engineering Office level impose the following fees on top of the regular commissions and “obligations” required of contractors to pay:

• Technical notes like variation order – P10,000 for the documents plus P2,000 per page per request;

• Planning and Design Section – at least P50,000 for soft copy, depending on region;

• Materials testing report – one percent of the contract cost; no receipt;

• Bid Documents – at least P50,000, depending on the region;

• Inspection per initial billing – P5,000 per inspector; additional P10,000 and P5,000 per signatory if prepared by DPWH “insiders;”

• Final billing – P75,000 plus P5,000 per project engineer;

• Quality Assurance conducted by Central Office – the District Engineer will call contractors for P50,000;

• Construction Performance Evaluation System – P50,000 to P200,000.

“Corruption has become systemic where greed has evolved. Now they add requirements that cost money per page of bidding documents and material testing reports. Even individual pages of documentary requirements come at a price,” Lacson said.

He lamented that junior DPWH personnel have taken a leaf out of the corruption playbook of their superiors.

“The junior personnel see their district engineers get rich so they decided to get rich as well,” he said.

Court orders response

The Pasay Regional Trial Court has given the Senate 72 hours to respond to a petition for a writ of amparo filed by Hernandez, who cited “serious” threats to his life.

In its Sept. 11 order, the court directed the Senate to submit a verified return with supporting affidavits showing that it did not violate Hernandez’s rights to life, liberty and security, and to detail steps it has taken to safeguard these rights.

The order warned that failure to comply with the directive may warrant sanctions under the rule on the writ of amparo.

A summary hearing on the petition has been set for Sept. 15 at the Pasay City Hall of Justice, where the court will hear arguments on Hernandez’s request for a temporary protection order and possible admission into the Department of Justice’s witness protection program. The court also directed the WPP director to attend the Sept. 15 hearing.

The Senate has complied with the court’s order, submitting its response yesterday.

“The Senate of the Philippines has filed its reply to the Pasay Regional Trial Court Branch 112, in response to the Writ of Amparo filed by the counsel of Brice Hernandez,” read a statement issued by the office of Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

“The filing was made today at 4:12 p.m., ahead of the imposed 72-hour period,” it added.

The Senate said it could not yet provide reporters a copy of the reply.

Independent

Business group Makati Business Club (MBC) is calling on both chambers of Congress to turn over the probe on flood control projects to the independent body created by President Marcos to look into these infrastructure projects.

In a statement, the MBC said it welcomes the creation of the ICI through Executive Order 94 to investigate the alleged corruption, irregularities and misuse of funds in government flood control and related projects within the last 10 years, amid mounting concerns that have eroded public trust.

“We strongly urge both the House of Representatives and the Senate to turn over to the ICI all the ongoing investigations, to address perceptions of conflict of interests and prevent intramurals that will further erode the image of both institutions,” the MBC said.

The group said it supports giving the ICI authority to investigate and pursue the filing of cases to ensure those involved in irregularities in projects are held accountable.

Under the EO, the ICI will be composed of a chairperson and two members with proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.

Pulong dares colleagues

Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte challenged yesterday all his fellow congressmen to publish their own districts’ budgets for the people to see their actual projects.

“Corruption is right in front of you, yet you keep looking for the Dutertes. Stop using our family as scapegoats. What you should be looking at are those ghost projects that cannot be seen, cannot be used and benefited no one,” Duterte said in a statement.

He dared fellow lawmakers to publish their own district budgets and let the people see the actual projects.

“In Davao, our projects are visible, built and used. The people themselves can testify that they exist. Elsewhere, what you see are just papers and receipts,” Duterte said.

La Union rep charged

Meanwhile, La Union 2nd district Rep. Dante Garcia is facing graft complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman over alleged irregularities in infrastructure projects, including flood control systems in several towns.

Youth group Progressive Youth of La Union filed the complaint, accusing Garcia of controlling public works contracts and using dummy contractors, leading to substandard or overpriced projects.

One major concern is the P1.6-billion flood control program in Bauang and Naguilian, reportedly poorly constructed. Similar projects in Agoo, Aringay, Bagulin, Caba, Santo Tomas and Tu-bao were also flagged.

Complainants are urging the ombudsman to issue a preventive suspension on Garcia. The lawmaker has yet to issue a detailed response. — Mark Ernest Villeza, Jose Rodel Clapano, Artemio Dumlao, Louella Desiderio