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| Bayan HK & Macau's Eman Villanueva asks for feedback from attendees |
Expose and hold them accountable - now!
This was the shared sentiment of some 30 Filipinos
from across various sectors who met at the KUC Space in Jordan on Oct 11 to
express outrage over the extensive corruption in flood control and other
infrastructure projects unveiled in the Philippines recently.
The group, representing migrant workers, students, educators,
journalists, and church people, agreed to form a coalition named Filipinos
Against Corruption and Impunity HK (FilAction HK) through which they will organize
community-wide discussions and other activities that will reflect their
indignation.
Among those being planned is a mass action on
November 30, Bonifacio Day, to coincide with another nationwide protest in the Philippines
to call for the immediate prosecution of the legislators, contractors and other
people behind the massive corruption.
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| Pindutin para sa detalye |
The Philippines’ Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said at
a Senate Budget hearing last month that the average economic losses from
corruption in flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) reached up to P118.5 billion from 2023 to 2025 alone.
But this appears to be only the tip of the iceberg
as data recently published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism
showed the questionable projects, many of them “ghost” or were never carried
out, started as early as 2016, during the time of former President Rodrigo
Duterte.
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| A big number of those who came were post-graduate students at HK universities |
Those who attended the inaugural meeting of FilAction HK initiated by United Filipinos in Hong Kong expressed disgust that such anomalies were allowed to happen, and that until now, the names of all those behind the graft-ridden projects have never been divulged to the public.
Members agreed to call for the immediate publication
of the names of the “proponents” – or legislators who supported the anomalous
projects - apart from the contractors, and get them sued in court.
All those who are found guilty of stealing public funds through ghost, substandard or overpriced government projects must be immediately jailed and banned from ever holding public office again.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Private individuals who colluded with them must be
stripped of their professional licenses, like the project engineers.
On top of serving their penalty, all the culprits
must be ordered to return the money they had stolen.
In addition, the Statement of Assets, Liabilities
and Net Worth (SALN) of all serving public officials must be made public; and
if necessary, even their bank accounts.
Also in the interest of transparency and justice,
the proceedings of the Independent Committee for Infrastructure (ICI) should be
made public.
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| Members of various religious groups also expressed outrage at the widespread corruption |
To prevent or minimize corruption in future, the
group wants to push for the implementation of the Anti-Dynasty Law which is
already provided in the Philippine Constitution, but has never been enforced.
Ahead of the planned mass action, the group plans to
network with other organizations so more wide-ranging discussions on the
pertinent issues could be held, with a bigger audience taking part.
