By Benjamin Pulta | Philippine News Agency
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) may soon visit Cebu in the coming weeks to check why the flood control projects in the province failed despite considerable funding.
“Sa Central Cebu tayo, Cebu City and Mandaue, basta yung mga badly-affected. Titingnan natin bakit ganun yung nangyari despite sa napakalaki nung funding na dinala doon,” ICI special adviser Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said in an interview with reporters on Wednesday.
Azurin noted that Cebu officials have said that up to P26 billion in flood control projects have been implemented in the province.
He said the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have been tasked to secure documents for the ICI.
“Through the help of the CIDG and the NBI kasi meron silang subpoena power. So, we need to study yung bid documents. Ibabangga namin yun sa actual implementation ng mga projects,” he said.
Azurin made the statements after the ICI convened a High Command Conference with representatives from key government agencies engaged in the investigation and prosecution of persons accountable for anomalous flood control and infrastructure projects.
The coordination meeting briefed relevant agencies on their respective duties in the investigation, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s scrutiny of taxes paid by the 16 top contractors that cornered the bulk of the ghost projects.
Azurin said out of the 421 projects initially identified by the ICI and the DPWH, the ICI is prioritizing the 80 projects involving the contractors mentioned by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Meanwhile the ICI said the scheduled appearance of former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo before the body has been postponed at the request of his counsel.
“The counsel has further mentioned that former undersecretary Bernardo is ready and willing to appear before the Commission on November 17. No reason was provided for the request to postpone the former DPWH undersecretary’s initially scheduled hearing,” the ICI said in a media advisory. (With a report from Christopher Caliwan/PNA)
