EDITORIAL

Corrupt officials in Cordillera road scams should be probed before release of more funds

Before the government pours more money in the Cordillera to build or repair more roads, controversial projects suspected as milking cows like those of a top Mountain Province official and his minions in the regional Dept. of Public Works and Highways should be investigated for alleged graft and corruption.

The P700 million Mt. Data-Bontoc road project scam had been the objected of criticism of Mountain Province constituents ad it seems, nobody involved in the anomaly is being prosecuted. With more funds from the national government pouring in for infrastructure projects like roads, the funds could again be pocketed by corrupt officials.

Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr., disclosed in Baguio last week that local funds will be available for the implementation of the rehabilitation of the Sabangan, Mountain Province-Cervantes, Ilocos Sur road in the next three years to complete the various road networks in the Cordillera that will link up with the neighboring provinces in Regions I and II.

Ebdane made the pronouncement after the Regional Development Council and Mountain Province Rep. Victor S. Dominguez raised concerns over the reported non-implementation of the nearly P1 billion rehabilitation works on the roadline since the foreign funding for the project was already exhausted due to the adjustments made in other infrastructure projects in the country that are being funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

According to Ebdane sourcing out of local funds for the projects not covered by foreign funding is consistent with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s commitment to complete the rehabilitation of infrastructure projects in the different parts of the country before the end of her term in 2010.

Now Dominguez is saying the DPWH allocated P63 million from its budget this year to jumpstart the initial works on the 41-km road that traverses the towns of Sabangan, Bauko and Tadian in Mountain province before linking up with the town of Cervantes in Ilocos Sur.

Some P44.5 million, it was learned, would be earmarked for the Mountain Province side of the road while the remaining P18.5 million will be used for initial rehabilitation works in the Ilocos Sur section of the road.

Earlier, the RDC requested DPWH and National Economic Development Authority – Investment Coordinating Committee officials to fastrack the implementation of the alternate road link development project, particularly the Cervantes, Sabangan road, by allocating supplemental budget.

The RDC noted that the implementation of the project could be delayed by inadequate funding, given that loan proceeds may no longer be enough for the civil works due to the rapid appreciation of the peso.

We reiterate, a more thorough investigation on the alleged anomalous road projects should be done before more funds would be released or more taxpayers’ money would land in the pockets of greedy officials.