IT ISN’T ENOUGH for President Marcos Jr. to keep fuming about money (foregone/cancelled foreign and local loans, counterpart funding being continuously paid for such loans by current and future generations) being lost to corruption.
The oldest and most influential business group– the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.– recommends a follow through, which to ordinary folks like me, means exposing them (crooks) to the people– politicians, lawyers, judges, businessmen and contractors.
Shame them and file appropriate charges against them so they get slapped with penalties (cash and jail terms). In older civilizations, those that violated laws and traditions were shamed in public and punished by guillotine and stoning!
The President again fumed in a TV interview over the cancelled loans for infrastructure projects because of corruption and for which our grandchildren and their children will continue paying for in interest, penalties and other charges.
‘(PBBM) warned that lawmakers and contractors behind substandard or corrupt government projects will soon be blacklisted and held accountable—regardless of political ties. “They know who they are!”’
BUDGET INSERTIONS
First, he swiped at such flagrant stealing with the cancellation of “most critical foreign-backed infrastructure projects, which he said is not just reckless but downright shameful.” He said the country did not just lose loans but also its reputation.
The President was referring to nearly P1 trillion worth of insertions by senators and congressmen in the 2025 budget, most of which were funneled into flood control projects widely seen as hotbeds of corruption, Bilyonaryo reported.
Worst part is that substandard or questionable projects sometimes get financed through unappropriated funds– money that hasn’t gone through proper budget approval and is often sourced through borrowings.
THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE
Marcos said these projects weren’t just defunded but were repackaged as unappropriated meaning they will be financed through borrowing and warned that lawmakers and contractors behind substandard or corrupt government projects will soon be blacklisted and held accountable—regardless of political ties.
“They know who they are!”
The President has some names of contractors. “We will put them on a blacklist to be barred from contracts with the government.”
ANOMALOUS PROMOTIONS
Senators, meantime, criticized the “anomalous” promotion at DPWH of officials responsible for the epic collapse of the Cabagan-Santa Maria Bridge in Isabela that left taxpayers footing the P1.2 billion bill.
Senators Joseph Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta said the bridge was funded three times– first for the original construction, then for retrofitting worth P285 million and finally for additional repairs worth P400 million, only to collapse just weeks later in February.
Yet no one was held accountable, worse the DPWH officials involved were promoted, including three undersecretaries who were given more power and responsibilities.
Named in the interpellation were: 1) Loreta Malaluan – Promoted from Region 2 Director to Assistant Secretary for Luzon. She recommended ₱233.5 million in retrofitting funds in 2021 and initiated epoxy crack repairs. In 2022, she formally requested reclassifying the project from a replacement to a retrofitting-strengthening effort due to persistent structural issues;
2) Mary Bueno – Elevated from Region 2 Director to Assistant Secretary for Visayas and Mindanao. She allegedly ignored early warnings of bridge failure flagged by Project Engineer Felipe Lingan;
3) Eugenio Pipo Jr. – Promoted from Asec to Undersecretary despite glaring red flags in construction. DPWH engineers flagged shifting columns and sheared boards as early as 2018, and
4) Ador Canlas – Promoted to Undersecretary for Technical Services. He approved the ₱285 million retrofitting plan on Dec. 19, 2023, and a revised version on May 22, 2024;
5) Maria Catalina Cabral –As Undersecretary for Planning Service and Public-Private Partnership, she approved the ₱400 million retrofitting budget even though the bridge was still under warranty.
BLESSINGS OF SUPERIORS?
Estrada said these officials could not have acted alone and likely had the blessing of their superiors.
The DPWH secretaries who served during the bridge’s construction include Rogelio Singson (2010–2016), Rafael Yabut, Mark Villar, Roger Mercado, and incumbent secretary Manuel Bonoan.
With deep frustration, Estrada mentioned that no DPWH official was suspended or investigated, even after a Senate Blue Ribbon probe. He blamed the tragedy on a flawed and unprecedented design that was approved without proper technical vetting.
The project, he mentioned, was awarded to R.D. Interior Junior Construction (RDIJC) even though none of the bidders had the required experience to build a complex steel bridge.