By Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine News Agency
Malacañang on Monday downplayed calls to abolish the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) over alleged corruption in multi-billion-peso flood control projects, saying the government prefers to weed out erring officials rather than dismantle the entire agency.
The proposal was raised by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who earlier cited long-standing irregularities in the department—including reports of rigged bidding and collusion between contractors and project engineers.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. does not support scrapping the DPWH, noting that the agency still has career officials and personnel who perform their duties with integrity.
“Ang departamento, hindi po lahat ng nangangasiwa at hindi po lahat ng taong gobyerno sa DPWH ay masasabi nating gumawa ng kamalian. May mga public servants pa rin po at public officials na masasabi nating tumutugon sa kanilang obligasyon,” Castro told reporters in a Palace briefing.
Rather than total abolition, she said the administration intends to purge corrupt personnel, “Sa ngayon po ay hindi pa naiisip kung dapat itong i-abolish dahil ang dapat tanggalin dito ay ‘yong gumagawa ng mali—at sa tulong na rin ni Secretary Vince [Dizon], matatanggal kung sino man ang dapat matanggal sa ahensya.”
To address entrenched corruption, Marcos recently formed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI)—a body tasked with investigating anomalous public works projects over the past decade, with a special focus on flood control programs. (PNA)
