Lacson: Contractors’ bagmen at work in DPWH
Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Monday said the bribery attempt on a lawmaker by an engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) shows that the agency’s district officials have become “bagmen” and “legmen” of powerful, influential contractors.
Lacson made that observation following the reported arrest of district engineer Abelardo Calalo on Aug. 22 after he allegedly tried to bribe Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste with some P3.1 million in cash, to persuade him to stop an investigation into flood control and other projects in his congressional district.
Calalo was since ordered suspended and is now under police custody.
Lacson earlier called for accountability in the crackdown on corrupt officials particularly in questionable flood control projects, saying this should lead to the arrest and prosecution of so-called big fish in those projects.
But Calalo is “far from being a big fish,” the senator said.
“His arrest after a foiled bribery try on Rep. Leviste reinforces my theory that some DPWH officials, at least at the district engineering level, have already been relegated to being ‘legmen’ and worse, ‘bagmen’ of some ‘powerful contractors’ or ‘funders’ responsible for the insertions in the budget,” Lacson said in a Viber message to the Inquirer.
“Having said that, the investigation of this instant case should dig deeper to determine under whose direction Calalo was offering the bribe money. And I am not referring to higher DPWH officials but to the ‘funder/s’ or the lawmaker/s who made the insertions in the 2025 GAA (General Appropriations Act),” he added.
“Somebody more powerful must be behind this whole scheme because this involves P3.6 billion worth of projects approved under the 2025 General Appropriations Act,” Lacson said further, adding that he had information showing the bribe offer was related to that budget allotment.
Regarding Bonoan
Lacson also said in a statement that corruption in the DPWH might have become so systemic that a surgical solution—beyond kicking out or reassigning officials—might be needed.
He said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation “should step in to pursue an expanded and more extensive investigation and not stop at filing a case against Calalo.”
The senator expressed dismay over recent remarks by Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan that the extent of corruption involving flood control projects in Bulacan is an “isolated case.”
Posting on X, Lacson said: “In my talks with some DPWH officials, both past and present, I didn’t hear any scathingly bad words about [Secretary] Bonoan. But for him to claim that Bulacan is an isolated case, he doesn’t strike me as a good, effective leader of his department. What a waste.”
Sweeping measure
Meanwhile, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he would file a measure seeking to ban companies owned by politicians from government projects.
“A contractor or company previously owned by politicians will be barred from joining government contracts,” Gatchalian said in a statement on Monday, as he pointed out that divestment has long been a convenient excuse for politicians to continue participating in government projects.
The Senate finance committee chair acknowledged the challenges that may confront his proposed measure. “We’re talking about 9,000 projects and these are just flood control projects. We’re not even counting roads, highways, and other infrastructure works,” he said.
If enacted into law, the measure will lead to sweeping reforms in the implementation of government projects and is expected to effectively curb corruption, the senator said.
