Magalong prefers ‘battlefield’ inquiry first
BAGUIO CITY—Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Sunday said he declined a Senate invitation to appear before its panel investigating public works anomalies scheduled today, Monday.
Instead, he explained, he would want to first address questions raised by a parallel probe at the House of Representatives regarding unnamed lawmakers who allegedly earn kickbacks from these projects.
The House infrastructure committee, however, has yet to summon him to its inquiry.
“I received the invitation from the Senate last Sept. 3 to appear at the hearing [on Sept. 8] but I declined and told them I would rather appear at the House (investigation) first,” he said.
Independent probe
Asked why, the mayor replied without elaborating: “That is where the battlefield lies.”
Magalong, a retired police general, has tussled with congressmen as far back as 2022 when he blamed institutional graft for the huge national debt which stands at P16.75 trillion as of April.
Congressmen and senators had dared him to provide evidence that some of their colleagues took hefty kickbacks from projects allocated with padded budgets.
The mayor earlier pushed for a third party investigation instead of in-house review panels. His name was floated as part of that independent body although he initially recommended retired police investigators and magistrates to lead it.
He said he does not know what role he would play should he be asked to join.
Cordillera contractors
Magalong was interviewed on the sidelines of his surprise appearance at a rally organized by Baguio activists against government corruption at Malcolm Square on Sunday.
Assembled by the Kabataan party list group, the protesters vented their ire on Cordillera contractors linked to overpriced public works projects in the highlands.
They demanded a probe into rock netting devices and rock sheds that have failed to protect mountain roads. Mr. Marcos had criticized a rock shed that was put up along Kennon Road when he inspected the impact of strong monsoon rains and typhoons on the famous zigzag road on Aug. 24.
“I am thankful that the youth have taken over the fight against corruption,” Magalong told students from various universities and organizations. “It’s been too much. Their greed appears to be endless.”
He also said government corruption had become a “highly organized crime” involving some builders and government employees tasked to execute and oversee these infrastructure projects.
Baguio activists
Magalong, who was Red-tagged in 2022 and 2023 when the city council rebranded the summer capital into an inclusive human rights city where activism is protected, said he anticipates attacks again associating him with the Left.
The lawful exercise of activism is how “we change the world,” the mayor said, drawing cheers from protesters that included activist nurse Erlinda Palaganas, one of this year’s outstanding citizens of Baguio, and former University of the Philippines Baguio Chancellor Priscilla Supnet Macansantos.
Palaganas said Baguio activists have denounced corruption since the martial law era and promised to help the youth continue the crusade.
Gabriel Siscar, Kabataan spokesperson in the Cordilleras, said projects that have been deemed anomalous, particularly in the highland provinces, should have been stopped immediately to spare taxpayer funds, and investigations and the prosecution of people behind the graft-laden programs should be pursued.
