Corrupting the build, build, build program

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- It’s an unforgiving job. Nurses claim that they belong to the “overworked and underpaid” sector. If the ratio of nurses to patients in hospitals abroad where the pay is much higher is one to six or eight, it is one to 30 or more in the Philippines where the basic or first salary is P22,000 minus deductions.

Ironically, that is why college students enroll in nursing courses, not to serve in Philippine hospitals but to take their chances abroad where the take home pay is better and the working conditions are healthier.

Records show that prior to the Luzon-wide COVID-19 lockdown, around 150,000 were able to take flight. Even while, hospitals are in need of nurses during this pandemic period, health authorities that previously disallowed nurses to travel abroad decided to ease the restriction and let the nurses go, especially those who already signed work contracts.

Because of this, government is bent on increasing the take home pay of our remaining nurses, otherwise healthcare during a pandemic will see a repeat of history with the resignation of medical workers. That was what happened during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918.

It is primarily the fault of government, particularly the executive and legislative branches that do not put enough importance to healthcare – proof of which are the unevenly distributed budget apportionments that are approved for each line department.

Most of the time, the public works department gets the largest cut in the budget pie where a big percentage of it is pocketed by those who approved it. Before his term ends in two years, President Duterte said he will fulfill his promise to increase the pay of nurses, especially during this time of a world health crisis. Let us wait and see.

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I give space this time to talk about public works which is always a contentious topic in many circles, if not scandalous. As I start to write this article last Thursday, I received information of a shooting incident at Sitio Gotang, Balintaugan, Bauko in Mountain Province.

A police report sent by a friend landed on my Facebook messenger account and identified the shooting victim as one Salvador Guitabao Liked, 44; single, a barangay kagawad who was reportedly shot to death by still unidentified assailants. I extend my sincerest condolences to the family of Mr. Liked and may his killers be caught and punished.

The police report signed by Police Major Bernardo K. Wong of the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Unit of Mountain Province narrated that the incident occurred at around 8:55 in the evening of September 2, 2020 in front of the victim’s house.

One of the unidentified killers served as lookout while another person was wearing a black bonnet, black jacket, black pants and farm boots as narrated by a witness who said that he heard at least three shots fired.

An initial investigation by the police provincial mobile force company and Bauko Municipal Police Station disclosed that Mr. Liked sustained two gunshot wounds at the back and nape leading to his instant death. Two caliber .45 shells and a slug were found at the scene.

The name Salvador Liked is familiar to public works contractors and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways because he is the secretary of an anti-corruption organization in the Cordillera region called the Citizens Crime Watch (CCW-CAR).

In one instance in 2017, he filed an affidavit-complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman about the failure of two DPWH officials in the Cordillera to file their Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth for several years.

Then in 2018, he wrote Sec. Mark Villar to check infrastructure projects implemented by the DPWH-CAR from 2015 to 2017 that were reported as “100% completed” with corresponding amounts collected but were actually discovered as “not completed”.

That was how bold Salvador Liked was before he decided to continue his public service by becoming a Kagawad of Barangay Balintaugan in his hometown of Bauko. This makes us recall some of the corrupt practices perpetrated by the parties involved in implementing government projects and the penalties applied.

In some cases, the license of a contractor is suspended for a year and cannot join a public biding of projects just because of the first offense of submitting false information or falsified documents – a violation of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The other offenses range from failure to complete the project to abandonment of the project; intolerable negative slippage; failure to comply with contractual obligations; falsification of public documents; the quality of material is not in compliance with approved plans and specifications; and unsatisfactory quality of work.

There are corrupt acts done by a collaboration of DPWH engineers and the contractor of a project. In many instances, project engineers bow down to a politician’s influence to a point that the contractor dictates the specifications of the project, including the site or kilometer station where the project would be built.

For example, instead of constructing a project along the Halsema Guiweng-Nawal-Tickey roadline, it was built along the Camangaan-Balabak-Liboong roadline. Worst, the violation of implementing the project on a wrong roadline was committed twice. Two projects were allowed to be built on the wrong roadline.

Meanwhile, concerned citizens are alarmed over multi-million worth of projects being proposed by unscrupulous contractors who have close ties with a lawmaker in the Cordillera.

The information forwarded to me is that projects that are not essential at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic are the ones that are being included for funding in next year’s General Appropriation Act.

One project that was mentioned was “rock netting”. This requires the use of nets that are pinned and held by bolts on mountain slopes to stop erosion and protect roads. However, mountain slopes above roads in the Cordillera are stable and not so many are prone to slides unless battered by continuous rains.

Allegedly, the motivation for such project proposals is the profit, not the benefits that these can provide the public. And if these acts go unchecked, then President Duterte’s build, build, build (BBB) program is bound to be unsuccessful.         

Infrastructure development is claimed to be the country’s drawback. That is why President Duterte initiated the BBB Program to accelerate infrastructure spending to develop industries that would create jobs and improve the lives of Filipinos.

Public spending on infrastructure projects is targeted at P8 to 9 trillion from 2017 to 2022. But if a percentage of the money is lost to corruption, then the program is counter-productive.