Marcos: P255.5B from DPWH budget realigned to prevent ‘waste’

CAGAYAN WELCOME President Marcos gets hugged by some women at Gonzaga Municipal Gymnasium in Cagayan province on Saturday, where he led the distribution of aid to communities affected by recent typhoons. In a speech, the President also explained his order to cut P255.5 billion from next year's budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways, whose image has taken heavy beating from revelations of systemic corruption. —PCO PHOTO

GONZAGA, CAGAYAN—After seeing up close some alleged “ghost” flood projects and substandard public works during site inspections recently, President Marcos said he had ordered the realignment of P255.5 billion intended for flood control projects next year to instead fund the priority programs of other government agencies.

“If we hadn’t done that, the P255.5 billion could have been wasted in various places,” the President said before 4,000 villagers at Gonzaga Municipal Gymnasium here on Saturday.

He said it was “more necessary” to fund other priority programs, hoping the realignment from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH) budget would send a signal to other agencies to curb graft and corruption in their turf.

P300B still available

The President’s allies in the House of Representatives have apparently begun to carry out his order. On Sept. 24, the amendments and review subcommitee of the House committee on appropriations, now chaired by Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, approved a report reflecting the redistribution of the P255.5 billion taken from the DPWH to different programs, with the health sector getting the biggest share.

In August, Mr. Marcos criticized a P96.49-million flood mitigation structure in Bulacan for being left unfinished and structurally unsound. This led to investigations by Congress and by later the Independent Commission for Infrastructurel.

Mr. Marcos on Saturday said that from hereon, only flood control projects that meet “all necessary requirements” would be allowed to proceed. These are projects whose proposals and programs of work have been prepared and cleared by the local government units (LGUs) where they are located.

He said about P300 billion have been earmarked for these projects next year. “So, it’s not yet depleted. Flood control projects will continue until next year,” he said.

“And we will approve flood control projects as long as we see that everything is in order—the proposal is proper, the program of work is well-prepared, the completion is satisfactory, and there is acceptance from the local government. That’s the new factor that we put in,” he added.

LGU requirement

LGUs used to have a major say and their clearance was needed before infrastructure projects undertaken by national agencies are marked as complete, the President recalled in his speech on Saturday.

“The problem is, this requirement was removed some years ago. I’m not sure exactly when, but I was surprised because it’s very important to have clearance from the barangay chairman, the mayor and the provincial government. This is how we ensure that projects are properly executed, done right and not overly expensive,” Mr. Marcos said.

“From now on, we will restore the process of acceptance by local government executives,” he added.

In an interview earlier this month, he had noted that this requirement was removed during the Duterte administration.

Aid package

Mr. Marcos was in Gonzaga to distribute P25.33 million in aid to at least 2,532 beneficiaries affected by Supertyphoon “Nando” (international name: Ragasa), which ravaged the town and neighboring Santa Ana on Sept. 22.

Each beneficiary received P10,000 and family food packs good for two to three days.

Rice farmers in four Cagayan towns also received cash assistance of P5,000 each. Relief interventions, such as seeds and fertilizers, worth P10.213 million were also given out. —WITH A REPORT FROM PNA