No less than a fresh generation of professional civil servants will be needed to overhaul a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that has become rotten due to boundless greed, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said over the weekend.
Lacson said DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon may check the private sector for licensed civil engineers who bring with them a culture of accountability and integrity instead of corruption.
“Assuming all DPWH officials submitted their courtesy resignations, Sec. Vince may start hiring licensed civil engineers from the private sector, still untainted by corruption and trained by corporate best practices; then create a new generation of professional civil servants,” he said in a post on X Saturday afternoon.
In Filipino: Lacson: Bagong Henerasyon, Susi sa Pag-Overhaul ng ‘Nabubulok’ na DPWH
One of Dizon’s first acts after assuming the top DPWH post was to order the courtesy resignation of all DPWH officials, to clean up the agency.
The DPWH is at the center of a major controversy involving substandard and ghost flood control projects. Lacson noted that more than P1.9 trillion had been appropriated to the DPWH alone for flood control projects since 2011, yet the flooding problem persists.
In privilege speeches last Aug. 20 and Sept. 9, Lacson detailed the “boundless greed” and corruption among DPWH engineers, some of whom gamble away hundreds of millions of pesos of taxpayers’ money in casinos.
Worse, he noted new moneymaking schemes by junior personnel of the DPWH, including additional requirements priced at thousands of pesos per page – on top of the regular commissions and “obligations” contractors are made to pay.
“Boundless greed. Rotten at the top, rotten at the bottom. Learning fast from their superiors, even official and ‘invented’ documents have become sources of ill-gotten income at the lower echelons of the DPWH’s district engineering offices,” Lacson lamented.
*****
Lacson: Bagong Henerasyon, Susi sa Pag-Overhaul ng ‘Nabubulok’ na DPWH
Kailangan ang isang bagong henerasyon ng mga propesyonal na lingkod-bayan para ma-overhaul ang Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) na nabubulok dahil sa walang hanggang kasakiman, ayon kay Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson nitong weekend.
Diin ni Lacson, maaaring tingnan ni DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon ang pribadong sektor para kumuha ng mga lisensyadong civil engineer na may dalang kultura ng pananagutan at integridad – at walang bahid ng korapsyon.
“Assuming all DPWH officials submitted their courtesy resignations, Sec Vince may start hiring licensed civil engineers from the private sector, still untainted by corruption and trained by corporate best practices; then create a new generation of professional civil servants,” giit ni Lacson sa post sa X Sabado ng hapon.
Isa sa mga unang hakbang ni Dizon matapos maupo bilang pinuno ng DPWH ay ang pag-utos ng courtesy resignation ng lahat ng opisyal ng ahensya upang linisin ito.
Nasa sentro ng malaking kontrobersya ang DPWH kaugnay ng mga palpak at guniguning flood control projects. Ipinunto ni Lacson na mahigit ₱1.9 trilyon na ang naitalaga sa DPWH para sa flood control projects mula 2011, ngunit nananatili pa rin ang problema sa pagbaha.
Sa mga privilege speech noong Agosto 20 at Setyembre 9, inisa-isa ni Lacson ang “walang hanggang kasakiman” at korapsyon sa hanay ng mga engineer ng DPWH, na ang ilan ay nagsusugal umano ng daan-daang milyong piso sa mga casino, gamit ang pera ng taumbayan.
Ang masama pa ay ang mga bagong paraan ng pangungurakot ng mga junior personnel ng DPWH, kabilang ang imbentong karagdagang requirements na may presyo na libu-libong piso kada pahina — bukod pa sa regular na komisyon at “obligasyon” na ipinapabayad sa mga kontratista.
“Boundless greed. Rotten at the top, rotten at the bottom. Learning fast from their superiors, even official and “invented” documents have become sources of ill-gotten income at the lower echelons of the DPWH’s district engineering offices,” ayon kay Lacson.
*****