Tulfo grills DOTr execs over corruption allegations, unutilized funds

Senator Raffy Tulfo speaks at the Senate panel on finance’s hearing on the proposed budget of the Department of Transportation for 2025 on September 10, 2024. (Screenshot from Youtube/Senate of the Philippines)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Raffy Tulfo on Tuesday slammed transportation officials for their inaction on corruption allegations and unutilized funds, including the unpaid P15.7 billion for the public utility vehicle (PUV) service contracting program.

Tulfo grilled them during the Senate finance subcommitte hearing on the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) proposed budget for 2025.

“I found out noong ako po ang naging chairman [of Senate the committee on public services], marami pong katiwalian sa DOTr at natutulog po sa pansitan, kangkungan ang mga namumuno ngayon sa DOTr. And alam nila na maraming katiwalian and yet nobody is doing anything,” he said.

(I found out that when I became the chairman of the Senate committee on public services, the DOTr had records of corruption and the current officials of the DOTr are just ignoring these. They know that there is corruption and yet nobody is doing anything.)

Tulfo then bared that P15.79 billion for the PUV service contracting program remains unpaid as of December 31, 2023.

The program was implemented under the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act as a response to the demand for public transport after the lifting of the national health emergency during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tulfo also mentioned that the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the P3.114-billion Land Transportation Management System project.

Based on a COA report in 2022, the funds had been underutilized despite complete acceptance and payment due to missing functions and processes.

READ: COA says LTMS project is yet to be completed

He also slammed the P511-million budget of the Manila Air Control Center which remains unutilized since 2009.

Tulfo then blasted the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for failing to deliver over 1.7 million licensed plates that motorists paid for since 2015. According to the 2o22 COA report, the replacement plates amounted to P808 million.

Tulfo said Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista should have focused on solving the corruption in the DOTr the moment he took office.

“Di ba Secretary Bautista, pag upo na pag upo mo dapat naisip mo ang mga ito. Bakit hinihintay mo na sa budget hearing natin pag-usapan ‘to? Dapat the first thing you do is tignan mo kung ano yung mga problema, katiwalian sa DOTr,” he pointed out.

(Secretary Bautista, you should have thought about these when you took office. Why did you wait for the budget hearing to talk about this? The first thing you should do is to know the problems and corruption in the DOTr.)

“And then do something about it, [tipunin] mo mga tao mo. Kasuhan ang mga dapat kasuhan,” he added.

(And then do something about it, gather your people. File complaints against those who are responsible for these.)

READ: LTO chief denies allegations of corruption, betrayal of public trust

The senator also said that in the previous hearing of the Senate panel on public services, he asked concerned agencies to file complaints against former Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya and LTO officials for their alleged involvement in the corruption in the procurement of fertilizer.