The province of Albay, not Sorsogon, received the biggest chunk of state-funded construction projects for the Bicol region in 2018, according to the records of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. had questioned the allocation of P10 billion for infrastructure projects in Sorsogon, where the parents of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s son-in-law are incumbent local officials.
Sorsogon Vice Gov. Ester Hamor is the mother of Romeo Sicat Jr., the husband of Diokno’s daughter Charlotte Justin.
Flood control
Ester is married to Mayor Jose Edwin Hamor of Casiguran town, which stands to get P385 million in flood mitigation projects under the national budget for 2019.
DPWH documents revealed that Albay was allotted P11.2 billion worth of road projects, while Andaya’s home province of Camarines Sur got P10.2 billion last year.
The records also showed that about P4.5 billion was earmarked for Masbate, P3.3 billion for Camarines Norte and P2.5 billion for Catanduanes for the same period.
Andaya’s district in Camarines Sur was given P772 million to finance the widening of five primary roads and one tertiary road.
Other allocations
On the other hand, the district of fellow Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymond Villafuerte got P858 million for flood-control projects and road rehabilitation.
Rep. Joey Salceda’s district in Albay was allotted P768 million for major infrastructure projects, while another P665.5 million was set aside for projects promoting tourism destinations and economic zones in the province.
The projects came to light after Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a crusader against pork barrel, revealed that the proposed 2019 national budget was reeking with lump-sum funds, an indication of pork.
Lacson had sought a thorough examination of the budget following his revelation.
The pork barrel system turned into what could be the country’s biggest corruption scandal after it was found that bogus groups linked to convicted pork scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles had skimmed billions of pesos for ghost projects.
Three former senators—Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.—had been charged with conniving with Napoles for the use of their pork funds for nonexistent projects. Revilla had recently been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan.