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| EDSA Shrine rally (GMA News photo) |
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has added a third front in the investigation of failed and ghost flood control projects, while the Department of Public Works and Highways has begun filing criminal complaints against the first batch of erring employees.
Amid these government moves, a million-people rally is being planned at the Luneta on Sept. 21 to express outrage for the “large-scale thievery”, capping off a series of protests in streets and schools.
The latest of these were Friday’s protest by students at the University of the Philippines in Diliman and Saturday's march from the EDSA Shrine to the People Power Monument in Quezon City.
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| PINDUTIN DITO |
“Let us call out and condemn the politicians and contractors who wear different colors but worship the color of money, who steal our people’s money,” declared a statement by the convenors, which included the Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (TAMA NA) and the Panatang Luntian Coalition.
Another
protest, dubbed the “Trillion Peso March,” led by the Clergy for Good
Governance, will take place at the People Power Monument on EDSA the same day.
Both
events were timed for the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by
the president’s father, Ferdinand Sr., in 1972.
It
is not yet certain when the three-member Independent Commission for
Infrastructure (ICI), created by Marcos under Executive Order No. 94, will
begin to “hear, investigate, receive, gather, and evaluate evidence,
intelligence reports, and information, against all government officials and
employees, and any other individual, involved in anomalies, irregularities, and
misuse of fSunds in the planning,
financing, and implementation of government flood control and other
infrastructure projects nationwide.”
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Malacañang has named former DPWH Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson, who cleaned the agency during the term of President Benigno Aquino Jr., and SGV and Co. country managing partner Rossana Fajardo, as the first two of ICI’s three members. Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong will act as special adviser and investigator.
The chairperson is expected to be appointed next week.
“The
President has appointed individuals of proven competence, integrity, and deep
familiarity with infrastructure, finance, and institutional reform,”
presidential spokesperson Claire Castro said.
“As
the President has repeatedly said: no one will be spared. Even relatives,
friends, or allies — there will be no sacred cows [in the ICI
investigation],” Castro said.
Even
if ICI starts its investigation, the ongoing inquiries by the Senate and the
House of Representatives will continue, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson,
chairman of the Senate Blue ribbon Committee.
“The
Senate Blue Ribbon probe and the work of the independent commission are
complementary. They won’t compete with each other,” he said.
Lacson
said the first hearing next Thursday in which he will be chairman, will not
only generate evidence that could be used by the Independent Commission for
Infrastructure (ICI), but also help in crafting anti-corruption laws.
He said he found evidence that could confirm revelations in Congress last week that Senator Jinggoy Estrada received a 30 per cent commission from P355 million paid for flood control projects that were never built.
Estrada and Joel
Villanueva, who was alleged to have gotten a 30 per ent cut of $600 million in
ghost projects, have denied the allegations.
For
his part, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon will aim for DPWH personnel
responsible for anomalous flood control projects to return the money they
stole. “It is not enough to go to jail. It is not enough to be held
accountable. We need to return the people’s money,” he said.
Among
the measures he would explore is to freeze and forfeit in favor of the
government the assets of persons named in cases that result from these
projects, with the help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Last
Thursday, the DPWH filed the first batch of graft charges against 20 government
engineers and employees from Bulacan, and four private contractors and their
owners, including the Discaya couple. He said the DPWH would file a second
batch next week against those involved in Oriental Mindoro projects.
