Lawmakers urge DPWH, LRA: Bust right of way syndicate

Lawmakers on Wednesday urged officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Land Registration Authority (LRA) to purge their ranks of people responsible for pulling off irregular payments for road rights of way.

At the resumption of the House inquiry into the P8.7-billion mess, the lawmakers said a syndicate was able to collect right of way payments for DPWH road projects in General Santos City using fake documents.

“[With] the magnitude of the public fund allegedly misused and the extent of the [involvement of] government offices and agencies, no [resident] of General Santos could put this issue [aside]. At stake here is the potential of the city and the future of the people,” South Cotabato Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr. said.

Singson, Abad implicated

A confessed member of the syndicate that processes fraudulent right of way claims has implicated former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and other DPWH officials.

Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo, chair of the committee on good government and accountability, said the DPWH and LRA should conduct an in-house inquiry into the possible involvement of their personnel in the scam.

At the hearing, Romualdo also asked Assistant Public Works Secretary Eugenio Pipo and LRA Administrator Renato Bermejo what corrective measures their agencies had put in place after the irregularity was uncovered.

Pipo said it was possible that DPWH personnel played a big role in the scam, adding that he would relay the committee’s observations to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

Just compensation

Under Republic Act 10752, or the Right of Way Act of 2016, the government is mandated to provide just compensation for landowners whose properties are used or affected by public infrastructure projects.

Romualdo said documents showed that many of the paid transactions in General Santos City involved several people, with one claimant receiving as much as P29 million for multiple claims.

Bermejo said the LRA was now digitally converting all land titles so it could verify the true ownership of properties.

The National Bureau of Investigation said it had recommended the filing of charges against two groups of DPWH and LRA officials and was set to file charges against nine more public officials. —Melvin Gascon