MALAY, Aklan — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has awarded the ₱7.78-billion Boracay bridge project to San Miguel Holdings Corp. (SMHC), drawing opposition from local officials, transport groups, and environmental advocates. The contract for the proposed 2.54-kilometer bridge, a major infrastructure plan in Malay, Aklan, that would directly connect Barangay Caticlan to...
Tag: Department of Public Works and Highways
Post
Collective calls for accountability on various fronts mark February
The past year ended with a whimper. The public pressure brought to bear on the administration to produce results in assorted inquiries into the corruption scandal did not amount to much (and now requires recalibration). To be sure, due process takes time (in these parts, too long a time). But with the huge amounts of...
Post
Let’s hear it from the President’s mouth
In a surprising turn, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. personally announced the Sandiganbayan’s issuance of warrants for the arrest of ex-Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and 17 others in connection with an anomalous flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. It was an obvious effort to demonstrate control of the raging corruption scandal. But in the...
Post
Zaldy Co makes bombshell claims, Roberto Bernardo names more names
Zaldy Co begged off from participating at the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the flood control corruption scandal on Friday, supposedly for health reasons. But three hours into the hearing, the former Ako Bicol party list lawmaker who has been out of the country since July surfaced in a video on Facebook...
Post
Marcos admin freed up ₱214B in unprogrammed funds for ‘priority’ infra in 2023-2024
The term “unprogrammed appropriations,” or UAs, sounds innocent enough. But to politicians, public works officials and contractors, they are an opportunity for graft. UAs are standby funds sourced from new or excess government revenues and foreign loans. These revenues were not expected and so were not included in the regular budget. In 2023 and 2024,...
Post
Once more unto the breach with the scandal du jour, even with thinning reserves of hope
What does the current spasm in the body politic over the latest manifestations of corruption indicate but that the more things change, the more they remain the same? It wasn’t too long ago when such types as “Pogi,” “Sexy” and “Tanda” were hogging the news, having been accused of receiving ₱224.5 million, ₱183.8 million, and...
Post
Floods, foreign funds and fiascos
At the House of Representatives’ deliberations on the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) last Aug. 30, legislators questioned Secretary Manuel Bonoan on why record flooding continues to be a problem despite P1.2 trillion having been spent by the department on flood control projects since 2009. Pinpointed were the Pasig...