When the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, created on Sept. 11 under Executive Order 94, conducts its own probe, how will it untangle the complex web of untruths and distortion of facts by personalities perceived to have benefited from the anomalous deals?
Bersamin's statement rebuking the House over a plan that had been shelved appears to be unnecessary, unless the Palace wants to send a message to Romualdez to "moderate [their] greed."
The current brouhaha over fictitious and anomalous flood-control projects necessitates closer monitoring of how Congress will play around the proposed P6.793 trillion budget for 2026.
The president should sustain his efforts in finding the truth behind these “ghost” and other anomalous projects, not only in the DPWH but also in other agencies involving procurement and other forms of contracts. That would be a meaningful legacy to leave behind.
Mayor Alfred Romualdez and the Sangguniang Panlungsod initially opposed the project, said to be an initiative of Tingog party-list led by Rep. Yedda Romualdez, the wife of his first cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The Ombudsman can also impose the penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office as a direct penalty for certain violations, like those under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, or as an accessory to other administrative penalties, such as dismissal from service, particularly for grave offenses like dishonesty.
While he didn't name names, Remulla said in a recent media interview that incumbent justices in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court were mentioned to be in Ang's pocket. Will these people be unmasked and ultimately be held accountable?
Halfway through his six-year term, only 42 or 25.45% of those promises have been fulfilled while 91 or 55.15% are in progress or still being implemented. The remaining 28 (16.97%) have been stalled, mostly in the legislature, and 4 (2.42%) have failed.
In the first three years of the Marcos presidency, cuts made by Congress in the annual budget program surpassed the P1-trillion mark, mostly from strategic transport, infrastructure and agri-based investments, and shifted to graft-prone projects like flood control, drainage systems and other local projects.
Acknowledging that the drug menace persists, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has renewed his “bloodless” campaign against both drug syndicates and small-scale drug dealers.
