PEOPLE ARE GETTING restive and increasingly agitated just by watching what looks more like a circus in the guise of news.
Deep down, Filipinos knew well enough that the investigators — members of the Senate and the House of Representatives — are neither righteous nor credible enough to take the lead in “congressional investigations in aid of legislation,” amid theatrics, shaming and putting blame on somebody else.
The public wanted something beyond grandstanding — an honest-to-goodness investigation by an independent commission composed of people with integrity, fortitude, credibility and courage, to be the ones to investigate.
NOT JUST CONTRACTORS
The scope should not be limited to contractors, for the anomalies in flood control projects — but for ALL the people who in one way or another, erred by commission or by omission.
By ALL, the probe would cover the lawmakers , the Commission on Audit (COA), the Department of Public Works and Highways nationwide (DPWH), the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), the Bureau of Immigration, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).
For one, most (if not all of the flagged projects) were funded either through congressional funds or lobbying of lawmakers, notoriously famous for budget insertions — by their own admission.
For the longest time, DPWH has been consistently on the list of the “most corrupt government agency.COA for its part failed to do pre and post audits, while PCAB whose officials, as per news reports, have amassed a fortune for accrediting “generous” contractors.
Not to be left behind is the BI for allegedly dragging their feet in issuing lookout bulletins), BOC for being remiss in inspecting all imported luxury cars as flaunted by one of the top contractors) and the PPA where bulky smuggled items are unloaded.
INDEPENDENT COMMISSION
The President on September 1 announced that he would create, through an executive order, an independent commission to look into flood control anomalies and vest it with subpoena powers to summon all those presumed involved in such high- stakes crimes.
The logic behind the President’s announcement — these agencies form part of what should have been a tedious process primarily designed to ensure a check and balance.
However, from the time the President floated the idea of creating an independent commission, people are increasingly hating (and making parodies in social media) of the grandstanding by lawmakers in summoning and throwing all the blame on select contractors, while sparing their ranks from such public rebuke.
Netizens have become bold enough to post pictures of politicians who they know are notoriously corrupt and must be subject to the bar of public justice.
FLIRTING AN ANGRY MOB
Already, there is a clamor for an EDSA People Power on September 13 to demand transparency and accountability on all state workers and public officials through mandatory declaration of statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
The supposed public clamor contained “specifics,” which include the amount and identity of businessmen who contributed to their election bid, producing receipts of purchase of their luxurious assets, lifestyles and properties (clothes, watches, cars, etc), among others.
Just yesterday, a sizable group of people rallied in front of the house of billionaire contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, who earned public condemnation for flaunting in two lifestyle vlogs of broadcasters, Korina Roxas and Julius Babao, their lavish mansions, cars and watches, rifles, silver and glasswares.
Months after the vlog went viral, Sarah Discaya ran — but miserably lost to Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto.
NOT LIMITED TO DPWH
Apart from the DPWH, the couple also cornered materials supply for the Commission on Election, for which netizens are pushing for the inclusion of Comelec chairman George Garcia to be investigated.
The Discayas were also dragged in the substandard and defective P107M Film Heritage Building in Intramuros, which First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos inspected and pointed at the defects.
The government is set to file estafa charges against the couple. The couple said through their counsel that they would appeal their permanent blacklisting as contractors.
PCAB FROZEN FOR NOW
The President meantime placed the private-sector watchdog, Philippine Contractors Association and the Construction Industry Association of the Philippines under the oversight powers of the Department of Trade and Industry.
There is also growing clamor that the independent probe body must not stop at the bogus, substandard, ghost flood control projects but in all government transactions like roads and bridges, safety gears for roads, telecommunications, data privacy, labor and more. In short, the entire spectrum of society, where state officials dip their hands into.
Intensified calls for not just jail terms and fines but also public executions be done on erring public officials and workers and corrupt businessmen as well.
BIZ GROUPS’ CONCERN
Business and civil society groups have united in pushing for the independent body to prosecute corrupt officials, even as they called for an end to “shameful, unabated, continuing and excessive” corruption in government’s public works projects.”
“While we take note of the President admonishing the corrupt in government, we are concerned that the guilty among these officials will continue their merry way of robbing the people and filling their pockets, completely oblivious to the fact that they are betraying the public trust, committing a treasonous act against our people, and simply being unpatriotic and sinful,” reads the joint statement signed by heads of 30 groups.
“It is thus important that thorough investigations be conducted by an independent body with the aim of prosecuting these corrupt officials, putting them in jail, and recovering the stolen funds,” the groups said while pointing out that Justice for the Filipino people, especially the poor, can only be achieved by successfully punishing the corrupt.
The 30 business and civil society groups raised a six-point action plan , to wit:
- “Blacklist” the notorious businessmen and contractors in cahoots with corrupt politicians and government officials
- Gather evidence of corruption against government officials, particularly those in the DPWH, the LGUs, and COA and their partners in crime in the private sector, so “appropriate” criminal and civil cases can be filed against them
- An Integrity Pledge where, among others, the leader and the company he/she leads “shall not bribe any politician or government official in exchange for project approvals or favors
- The importance of encouraging the financial sector, particularly the banks and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), “to be one with us in bringing out the money launderers and their unexplained wealth within legal and regulatory boundaries.
They also raised the importance of participating in and supporting citizen and voter education campaigns to make the people aware of the “evils of corruption and other misgovernance practices so that citizens can discern and elect officials who have good anti-corruption records.”
Signatories include the Alliance of Women for Action towards Reform (AWARE); Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan (ANIM); Association of CPAs for Sustainability Inc. (ACPAFSI); Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP); Cebu Business Club (CBC); Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI); Cebu Leads Foundation (CLF); Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (CCPI); Connected Women; Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP); Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI); Filipina CEO Circle (FCC); Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX); FinTech Alliance Philippines ; Green EDSA Movement (GEM); Iloilo Economic Development Foundation, Inc. (ILED); Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA); Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD); Justice Reform Initiative (JRI); Management Association of the Philippines (MAP); Military and Uniformed Personnel for United Philippines (MUP); Nextgen Organization of Women Corporate Directors (NOWCD); People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP); Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI); Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport); Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA); Philippine Women’s Economic Network (Philwen); Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI); Shareholders’ Association of the Philippines (Sharephil) and Women’s Business Council Philippines (WBCP).
PUBLIC OUTRAGE
“In the strongest terms possible, we hereby declare our outrage, disgust and disappointment about the acts of many of our legislators in Congress and officials in the Executive Department, primarily in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the local government units (LGUs), and the Commission on Audit (COA), for their shameful, unabated, continuing and excessive acts of graft and corruption—a crime against our people, especially those who continue to live in dire poverty,” the groups said in their statement.