From flood control to farm-to-market roads
There is corruption not just in flood control projects, but also in farm-to-market roads (FMRs).
Last Dec. 17, the Philippine Daily Inquirer headline was: “More provisions in DPWH, DA budgets questioned.” The Philippine Budget Coalition (PBC) identified “P149 billion worth of risky FMRs.”
The PBC finding is most welcome and should be investigated.
However, until very recently, Department of Public Works and Hightways (DPWH), not the Department of Agriculture (DA), had the sole authority to oversee FMR implementation.
I previously joined the private sector monitoring team of the Philippine Council of Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF).
During those inspections, I helped report the defective and corrupt implementation of FMRs. But when we requested corrective action from DPWH, we rarely got any.
Last Dec. 9, shortly after President Marcos transferred the authority of FMR implementation from DPWH to DA, Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. created a watchdog to monitor FMR implementation to prevent further corruption.
Successfully stopping government corruption needs two elements: effective private sector participation and strong political will from the department secretary.
While only 30 percent of my professional career has been in government, I clearly saw how private sector participation could minimize corruption.
Private sector participation. When I started as the Department of Trade and Industry undersecretary, we received many complaints about substandard steel bars. These jeopardize our lives, especially during typhoons and earthquakes.
With the support of Secretary Jose Concepcion Jr., I went on the radio asking the private sector to report, even anonymously, where the substandard steel bars were being sold.
Once we knew this, we traced these defective bars to their manufacturers. We then closed 16 of the 28 manufacturers until they met the mandatory product standards.
At that time, the Office of the President provided me with six bodyguards, all with UZI machine guns and a pistol for myself. This was because generals were involved at high levels.
Nevertheless, private sector participation did not allow us to relent and this anticorruption initiative succeeded.
When the private sector is asked to report corruption, many hesitate.
In agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs (thankfully, now undergoing reform), victims are afraid to report anomalies.
This is because these same agencies retaliate with even larger unreasonable demands the next time around. A system should be created so that they remain anonymous.
The same is true for FMR implementation. Private sector groups like the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (which successfully minimized corruption when I was secretary for presidential programs and projects) could be the cover source for these reports to preserve a person’s anonymity.
In addition, DA will have an FMR Watch website.
This is where anyone can anonymously report an FMR-related issue by uploading photos and flagging issues directly from the project site. There will also be a portal so people can check the exact location of the FMRs, as well as visit and inspect these sites.
Political will. The second necessary element for success is strong political will, which Tiu Laurel has clearly shown.
This is probably why Mr. Marcos transferred the FMR authority to him. In the two years he has been in office, Tiu Laurel has increased agriculture apprehensions by 300 percent.
He has ordered the investigation of one undersecretary, three assistant secretaries, 10 directors and 33 employees.
He has instituted a required checklist before any regional director can release a grant.
The absence of this checklist has been a major cause of the 30 percent recorded corruption and waste documented in past PCAF monitoring reports.
Noncompliance with this checklist and other indicators has already resulted in three regional directors being relieved of their posts.
The DA model described here, using private sector participation and strong political will, should be replicated and adapted for all government agencies.
This is the only way we can escape from the scourge of rampant corruption that has bedeviled us for too long.
