Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson pushed for safeguards to make sure that a bill seeking to accelerate the construction of classrooms and school buildings will not be marred by conflict of interest – or worse, create another “Napoles.”
Lacson emphasized that while he fully supports the initiative to accelerate the construction of classrooms and school buildings, there are issues on the extent of participation of non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil society groups (CSOs) that need to be resolved.
“If we involve NGOs and they will actively participate in bidding, monitoring, etc., (there is the) conflict of interest. Probably (we can include a) caveat, that provided they will not monitor themselves. At the proper time maybe we can use the proper language to clarify that particular issue. But I have no objection to allowing NGOs to be active partners in the school building program of the government,” he said in his interpellation Wednesday of Senate Bill 1482 authored by Sen. Bam Aquino.
In Filipino: Lacson: Kailangan ang Safeguards Para Hindi Maulit ang ‘Napoles’ sa Classroom-Building Bill
He noted that under the Government Procurement Act of 2024 (RA 12009), NGO participation is limited – where the procuring entity may enter into an agreement with an NGO “when an appropriation law or ordinance earmarks an amount to be specifically contracted out to NGOs.”
But he said RA 12009 also limits the role of CSOs or people’s organizations as observers throughout the procurement process to avoid conflict of interest.
“There goes the problem. Kasi kung i-involve natin ang CSOs sa construction ng building, one way or another, indirectly or directly, at na-interchange ang definition ng NGO and CSO, baka ma-Napoles tayo dito. How do we resolve this issue (There goes the problem. If we involve CSOs in the construction of buildings, one way or another, directly or indirectly, and the definition of NGOs and CSOs are interchanged, we might have a Napoles situation. How do we resolve this issue)?” he said.
Lacson was referring to the pork barrel scam involving trader Janet Lim-Napoles, who in the 2010s used a network of fake NGOs as conduits to steal billions of pesos in public funds.
Also, Lacson sought clarification on the status of P54.883 billion remaining under the P91.279-billion Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF) from 2022 to 2025, as only P36 billion was spent for 7,172 completed and 4,962 ongoing classrooms during that period.
The BEFF covers, among others, the construction, repair and rehabilitation of school buildings; fixtures and utilities including water and electrical utilities.
In reply, Aquino noted that only the DPWH could build classrooms from 2022 to 2025 – which was why his bill sought to remove this responsibility from the DPWH and allow local government units and participating NGOs to take on the task. He added that while the fund for 2025 can be realigned, he can check the status of the fund from 2022 to 2024.
Aquino added that while the DPWH’s standard cost per classroom is P3.5 million, LGUs can construct classrooms at P1.5 million to 2 million each, while CSOs can do it for P800,000 to P1.3 million.
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Lacson: Kailangan ang Safeguards Para Hindi Maulit ang ‘Napoles’ sa Classroom-Building Bill
Nanawagan si Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson ng mga safeguard upang matiyak na ang panukalang batas na layong pabilisin ang pagpapatayo ng mga silid-aralan at paaralan ay hindi madadawit sa conflict of interest — o magbunga ng panibagong “Napoles.”
Binigyang-diin ni Lacson na bagama’t todo suporta siya na pabilisin ang pagpapatayo ng silid-aralan at school building, may ilang isyu hinggil sa lawak ng partisipasyon ng non-government organization (NGOs) at civil society organization (CSOs) na kailangan pang linawin.
“If we involve NGOs and they will actively participate in bidding, monitoring, etc., (there is the) conflict of interest. Probably (we can include a) caveat, that provided they will not monitor themselves… But I have no objection to allowing NGOs to be active partners in the school building program of the government,” ani Lacson sa kanyang interpellation Miyerkules ukol sa Senate Bill 1482 na inihain ni Sen. Bam Aquino.
Tinukoy niya na sa ilalim ng Government Procurement Act of 2024 (RA 12009), limitado ang partisipasyon ng NGO — kung saan maaaring pumasok sa kasunduan ang procuring entity sa isang NGO “when an appropriation law or ordinance earmarks an amount to be specifically contracted out to NGOs.”
Gayundin, nililimitahan ng RA 12009 ang papel ng CSO at people’s organizations bilang observers lamang sa buong procurement process upang maiwasan ang conflict of interest.
“There goes the problem. Kasi kung i-involve natin ang CSOs sa construction ng building, one way or another, indirectly or directly, at na-interchange ang definition ng NGO and CSO, baka ma-Napoles tayo dito. How do we resolve this issue,” babala ni Lacson.
Tumutukoy si Lacson sa pork barrel scam noong 2010s kung saan gumamit si Janet Lim-Napoles ng mga pekeng NGOs para ilihis ang bilyong pisong pondo ng gobyerno.
Humingi rin si Lacson ng paglilinaw tungkol sa status ng P54.883 bilyon na natira sa P91.279-bilyong Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF) mula 2022 hanggang 2025, dahil P36 bilyon pa lamang ang nagastos para sa 7,172 natapos at 4,962 kasalukuyang ginagawa na mga silid-aralan sa panahong iyon.
Kabilang sa mga saklaw ng BEFF ang pagtatayo, pagkukumpuni at rehabilitasyon ng mga gusali ng paaralan; gayundin ang mga kagamitan at utilities tulad ng suplay ng tubig at kuryente.
Sa kanyang tugon, sinabi ni Aquino na tanging ang DPWH lamang ang pinapayagang magtayo ng silid-aralan mula 2022 hanggang 2025 — dahilan kung bakit layon ng panukalang batas niyang alisin ang responsibilidad na ito mula sa DPWH at payagan ang LGUs at kwalipikadong NGOs na tumanggap ng proyekto. Dagdag niya, maaari pang i-realign ang pondo para sa 2025, ngunit kailangang tingnan ang status ng 2022–2024 funds.
Ibinahagi rin ni Aquino na kung P3.5 milyon ang standard cost ng DPWH sa isang classroom, kaya naman ng LGUs na magtayo sa halagang P1.5 milyon hanggang P2 milyon, habang ang CSOs ay nakapagtatayo sa P800,000 hanggang P1.3 milyon.
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