By Brian Campued
Over three months after he ordered the probe on anomalous flood control projects in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. warned that those involved in the multibillion-peso corruption scheme would be put in jail before Christmas.
In a press conference in Malacañang on Thursday, the President stressed that the administration is focused on filing charges against the suspects, recovering the stolen public funds, and implementing reforms to prevent the flood control mess from happening again in the future.
“‘Yang mga taong iyan na kasabwat diyan, hetong mga walanghiyang ito, na nagnanakaw ng pera ng bayan, tapos na ang maliligaya ninyong araw, hahabulin na namin kayo,” he said.
“Alam ko bago mag-Pasko marami dito sa napangalanan dito ay matatapos na yung kaso, buo na yung kaso—makukulong na sila, wala silang Merry Christmas. Before Christmas, makukulong na sila.”
In his report, Marcos enumerated the multi-agency efforts that have been undertaken by the government in the past months amid increasing public clamor to put the suspects in jail.
The Office of the Ombudsman has filed multiple graft and malversation cases against officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and several contractors over ghost and substandard projects in Bulacan, La Union, and Davao Occidental.
From Sept. 29 to Nov. 6 this year, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has referred the filing of criminal and administrative cases to the Ombudsman against 37 individuals, including lawmakers, former DPWH officials, and contractors.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), meanwhile, blacklisted nine companies linked to contractor Sarah Discaya and cancelled their Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) membership.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has also secured seven freeze orders to immobilize assets linked to flood control corruption, including 1,671 bank accounts; 58 insurance policies; 244 vehicles; 144 real properties; and 12 e-wallet accounts.
Marcos Jr. said the Office of the Solicitor General is currently crafting a forfeiture case against the frozen assets to get the money, amounting to P6.3 billion, back to public coffers.
By Oct. 3, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) filed 12 bid manipulation and bid-rigging cases against five contractors over collusion in government procurement, with penalties totaling P3 billion to P5 billion.
The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) also received referrals to sanction 16 licensed professionals involved in fraudulent project designs and supervision.
On Nov. 6, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) filed P8.86 billion worth of tax evasion cases against 89 contractors and nine DPWH and Commission on Audit (COA) officials, supported by 98 Letters of Authority for expanded investigations into tax fraud and undeclared assets.
Marcos said authorities are focused on building airtight cases with solid evidence to ensure jail time for the culprits, stressing that no one is “immune” and “exempted” in the pursuit for transparency and accountability.
“We don’t file cases for optics, we file cases to put people in jail or to make people answer,” he said.
The President likewise urged the public to continue submitting any information on alleged irregularities in infrastructure projects, noting that their reports are essential in the case buildup.
As of Nov. 10, Marcos Jr. said a total of 20,078 complaints have been received through the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website.
“Napakahalaga ng impormasyon na ibinibigay ng taumbayan sa ating pamahalaan… Kaya’t ipagpatuloy po ninyo yung inyong pag-report sa amin pag meron kayong nakita na dapat tingnan, dapat imbestigahan, dapat pag-aralan,” the Chief Executive said.
-jpv
