After visiting the Sunog Apog Pumping Station in Tondo, Manila. Department of Public Works and Higways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon and the Independent Committee on Infrastructure (ICI) are being strongly urged to not only ensure that necessary repairs are done properly but also see to it that involved DPWH officials, contractors and even d politicians are charged accordingly, so they may be held criminally, civilly and administratively accountable.
Manila second district Congressman Rolan ‘CRV’ Valeriano issued the call as he expressed high appreciation for the personal visit made by Dizon to the Sunog Apog Pumping Station in Tondo, Manila, lamenting how Tondo residents have been suffering due to the failed project.
“Clearly, that non-operational pumping station is the result of culpable supervision of DPWH engineers and substandard work by DPWH contractors MSB Vitug/J.D. Legaspi Construction,” Valeriano said.
“In September 2023, the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, which I then chaired, investigated the matter and found out that the DPWH had already fully paid the contractors a total of P774 million, despite the defects that rendered the facility useless,” he said, adding that the MMDA itself testified before Congress that there were serious flaws in the project.
Valeriano lamented that the House investigation was only in aid of legislation, which means it was limited to fact-finding and recommendations.
According to Valeriano, the mandate to file charges and recover wasted funds now lies with the DPWH and the ICI, which must determine if the Sunog Apog Pumping Station was the product of unscrupulous congressional “insertions” prior to its construction in 2018, or if it was part of a modus operandi similar to the so-called Bulacan Group of Contractors.
“They must also answer the question: where is MSB Vitug/J.D. Legaspi Construction now, and have they been blacklisted?,” the lawmaker stressed.
In support of the said effort, Valeriano said he will request the Committee Secretariat to formally forward the official report of the House probe to Dizon and to the ICI.
“Last May, the DPWH awarded a separate P94 million contract to LeBron Construction, a proprietorship, just to make the facility operational. This means that taxpayers’ money will again be used to fix a project that should have been working from the start. The spending and implementation of this new contract must be closely monitored to avoid a repeat of past mistakes,” stressed Valeriano.
