Lacson bares ‘systematic corruption,’ kickback in flood control projects

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (Senate PRIB Photos)

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ping Lacson exposed on Wednesday the “systematic corruption” and anomalous schemes in the country’s flood control projects, detailing how the “pie-sharing” of funds varies depending on each project.

READ: Bulacan ‘most notorious’ in anomalous flood control projects — Lacson 

In his privilege speech, Lacson said corruption has become so pervasive and systemic that engaging in it is “like a piece of cake.”

The senator explained that funds for specific projects are divided based on greed from both the public and private sectors, leaving only crumbs for actual implementation.

“I want to emphasize that this does not reflect all flood control projects in the country. While the pillaging pattern is relatively the same, the pie-sharing varies depending on the level of greed,” said Lacson in a mix of Filipino and English.

He began his presentation with the regular taxes and insurance automatically deducted from projects: 5 percent Value Added Tax, 2 percent withholding tax, 1 percent for bonds and insurance, and 1 percent for materials testing.

Lacson added that 8 to 10 percent is also deducted for the contractor’s profit.

“For example, if the budget for a flood control project is P100 million, after the maximum allowable deductions, ₱82 million will remain for the project,” he explained in Filipino.

But it does not end there. The senator said further deductions are made for certain commissions, “standard operating procedures,” and other arrangements that complete the shares of those involved in corruption.

He enumerated the “sharing” as follows:

• 8–10 percent for officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
• An additional 2–3 percent for the District Engineering Office if there is an excess in the contractor’s profit
• 5–6 percent for members of the Bids and Awards Committee
• 0.5–1 percent for the Commission on Audit (COA)

Lacson also noted that a so-called “passing through or parking fee” is deducted from the budget, amounting to at least 5 to 6 percent of the total fund.

“Lo and behold, 20 to 25 percent usually goes to the funder or the politician who proposed the project,” he said mostly in Filipino.

READ: DPWH confirms existence of ‘ghost’ flood control projects in Bulacan 

And what remains for the actual implementation of the project? Lacson said it is already a miracle if the fund reaches 40 percent.

“There is an evident pattern of this nasty distribution of public funds among crooks. This is based on case studies we visited and thoroughly investigated in different parts of the country, particularly on the issue of flood control,” he concluded. /jpv