Where is the money?

Ben Contreras .

THE two resolutions approved by Barangay Macasandig officials were endorsed by Mayor Oscar Moreno to the Department of Public Works and Highways. It was then forwarded to the office of Patrick B. Gatan, DPWH project director under the Flood Control Management Cluster.

On May 31, 2018, Gatan wrote back to the mayor informing the latter that DPWH will complete the project within this year.

About a month ago, on the invitation of Roy Baltazar, we were at the site to see for ourselves the situation. On Aug. 18, 2018, on the same invitation, we were there again to look at the place nearer than before. Nothing much has been added to what we have already seen before.

August would soon be over and that would be three months from the assurance of Gatan to the mayor that they will complete the project within this year. What is really the problem, DPWH?

On April 5, 2018, residents of Macasandig wrote a letter to Rep. Maxie Rodriguez, appealing for assistance that the project would soon resume. On July 18, 2018, Rodriguez conducted an ocular inspection of the project and on Aug. 1, 2018, they were informed by Rodriguez that “DPWH Region-X is still studying the legality of diverting funds to construct the dike we requested.”

Ah… that’s it! DPWH ran out of funds to continue the project! Why? What happened to the money for this project? Nahurot sa commission?

Let me go back to the time when I was furnished copies of 2018 DPWH projects most of which were already given to favored contractors worth billions of pesos. Retired colonel Tony Lustre offered me this exclusive story by giving me documents to prove it. He even mentioned about being bribed with P5 million upon exit from the office of the DPWH Region 10.

Somebody from DPWH must have earned millions but some projects given to the favored contractors must be losing money. Is the dike one of them?

When there is too much corruption in one region, nobody wants to touch it for fear that an investigation may backfire on the investigator. And while they are studying the legality of transferring one fund to another, while concerned government offices pass one responsibility to another, short of washing their hands, hundreds of lives continue to hang in the balance when the next flood would come to claim more lives.

During that morning pulong-pulong, a barangay official commented that they have the same objective, but they have different approaches. This barangay official would rather that they hold it in Divisoria or City Hall, make effigies of Moreno and Cimatu (why Cimatu?) and burn them. That way, you wouldn’t need to invite media people to cover it. They will be attracted to come.

I hope to bring this to the attention of President Duterte and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar. The fear of the people is real. The floodwaters during “Vinta” was as deep as that of “Sendong.” Let us not wait for the next to come.

The dike, if finished, is a beautiful scene to watch and the bridge towering over a pristine river is quite a sight to behold. Let us not taint it with bodies and destroyed properties because we fail to cushion the impact of a dreaded flood.