President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to eliminate corruption in public works, saying it causes faulty infrastructure and economic losses that burden Filipinos.
During his inspection of failed rock shed and rock netting projects in Tuba, Benguet, Marcos Jr. noted the damaged P264-million rock shed has already caused a 35% loss to the local economy, while repairs may cost at least P500M.
The President ordered the DPWH to restore the SOP requiring local governments to formally accept projects before declaring them complete, to prevent corruption and ensure quality.
He also slammed the banned rock netting project in Camp 5, Kennon Road, citing overpriced materials. The mesh used cost the government P12,000 each, though the supplier’s price was only P3,200, a 75% kickback, according to him.
The P114-million project by 3K Rock Engineering covered 3,479 sqm of slope but was found to have damaged and substandard materials.
“Those are the things we have to correct. Over the years, these abuses only came about kasi pinalitan ang sistema and dinadaya talaga,” said Marcos Jr. “If there’s one thing, I will not leave this office until I fix this,” he added.IMT
