DON’T EXEMPT LGUs IN PROBE, CCWI REMINDS OMB, SENATE, ICI

THE anti-corruption watchdog Crime and Corruption Watch International (CCWI) reminded the Ombudsman, the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) and the Senate not to spare local government executives in the ongoing probe on corruption involving flood control and other infrastructure projects after they issued their statement of support to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Dr. Carlo Magno Batalla, CCWI chair, said the statement of support issued by local chief executives to President Marcos in the aftermath of another wave of huge protests last November spearheaded by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) and other anti-corruption advocates should not divert government’s attention on the alleged shenanigans committed by LGUs.

“Pagdating sa korapsyon, para nang nilulutong ‘bibingka’ ang ating mga kababayan—apoy sa itaas, apoy sa ibaba; pinagnanakawan sila sa ng mga nasa itaas; pinagnanakawan din sila ng mga nasa ibaba.

“In this context, we view the LGUs statement of support to the President as their way of trying to avoid the lens of investigations from focusing on their own misdeeds. They are just using the President.

“In this regard, will the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI), the Ombudsman or the Senate no longer investigate our local officials because they now claim to support the President?

“What about the damage they have caused to their local communities,” Batalla asked.

Batalla cited in particular the cases of Quezon City mayor, Joy Belmonte, Baguio City mayor, Benjamin Magalong and Laoag City mayor, Bryan Alcid, all of whom have been found to have transactions with couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, the private contractor who are now at the center of the flood control project scandal involving hundreds of billions of pesos.

Batalla also cited Camarines Sur Governor LRay Villafuerte and Sariaya, Quezon mayor Marivic Gayeta, whose alleged involvement in corruption have also been documented by CCWI.

Batalla noted that people are still demanding answers and transparency in the P110 million public tennis court and car park project initiated by Magalong that was contracted out to one of the firms of the Discayas.

He added that Belmonte, for her part, hastily canceled contracts worth more than P431 million her office also made with the Discayas, leaving the projects unfinished and the people’s money wasted.

“Why were the contracts terminated only after the name ‘Discaya’ became unpalatable?

“Who will now answer for the damage done against the public’s interest,” Batalla asked further.

Batalla also noted that Alcid, along with the Discayas, have been publicly named as cornering the bulk of flood control projects in the province totaling more than P10 billion in the last 3 years.

“Why has the lens of investigators yet to reach the province of the President,” Batalla wondered.

In Camarines Sur, Batalla, who also hails from the province, bewailed that under Villafuerte, the budget for the construction of the provincial capitol has ballooned from P300 million to over P1 billion and yet, the building remains unfinished, “burdening the people with unending loans with nothing to show for them.”

In Sariaya, Quezon, CCWI investigation showed a pattern of rigged purchases and rigged infrastructure projects thru favored suppliers and a single contractor identified with the family of Gayeta, “an indecent situation going back to the last 10 years, to the detriment of the people of Sariaya,” Batalla said.

“These are just examples of publicly reported anomalies involving some of our local chief executives.

“If the ICI, the Ombudsman, and the Senate are indeed serious in regaining the public’s trust in our institutions, they should also commence with the immediate investigation of local executives before their wrongdoings get buried and forgotten in the news headlines,” Batalla added.