DPWH promotions, hiring: Performance not referrals
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said he would sign a new department order on Monday that would make the appointments and promotions of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials “performance-based,” and not based on referrals by politicians.
In a press conference, Dizon said three criteria would be used to measure the performance of regional directors, district engineers, assistant district engineers, and other officials of the agency.
These criteria are: (1) timely and quality repair and maintenance of roads and bridges, (2) quick response to damage caused by man-made calamity and natural disasters, and (3) timely and quality completion of projects.
“If there is a broken road, a pothole, or a flood control project that is damaged, it must be repaired and maintained quickly and with quality. If the officials don’t pass this, they will be removed. They will be replaced immediately,” he said.
The performance of the officials will be reviewed every year, said Dizon.
Agency at center
The DPWH is the agency at the center of the massive flood control projects scandal now hounding the government. Various DPWH personnel have been implicated in the corruption scheme, and a number have been arrested, while many more are the subject of active investigation.
Just two days ago, the Commission on Audit (COA) asked the Ombudsman to investigate four Bulacan flood control projects worth more than P275 million, after auditors found alleged irregularities, including “ghost” works, unauthorized site relocations, and payments for structures that were missing or already in place before the contracts took effect.
The state audit body said the questioned projects were implemented by the DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office and awarded to SYMS Construction Trading and Wawao Builders.
Among the DPWH officials and contractor representatives that the COA said might be held liable were Henry Alcantara and Brice Ericson Hernandez.
Both officials, already dismissed from the agency, are part of the Ombudsman’s investigation into the flood control anomalies. Alcantara has been granted state witness status by the Department of Justice, while Hernandez was recently ordered detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas.
