Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – For Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, there was nothing anomalous in the P10.6-billion infrastructure funds that were supposedly spent without proper bidding during the last few months of the Arroyo administration.
During the investigation of the House committee on good government and accountability on Tuesday, Singson said he “assumes” based on their documents that there was regular implementation of the funds that form part of the P69.7-billion congressional insertions to the national budget during the end of Arroyo’s term in 2010.
“I’m assuming that these were properly bid out and implemented,” Singson told the House committee.
He repeated the same statement in a chance interview after the hearing, noting that he leaves it to the Commission on Audit to determine if there were anomalies.
“I’m just basing this on written reports. I assumed regular implementation of the projects unless there are COA findings that said it’s irregular,” he said.
This seems to be a turnaround from his statement during the March 4 hearing, when he said that the funds were used up “to the last peso,” strongly indicating that the road repairs, dredgings, bridge and school constructions did not go through the bidding process.
“Most of the projects were farmed out at exactly their ABC (approved budget cost) which obviously means they were not bid out right. Most of the projects were cut into small parcels, like a P100-million project into smaller projects of P500,000 each,” Singson said during the hearing according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.
“Whatever was allocated was used up to the last peso. If they were bid out properly, the project cost should have been lower than the budget cost,” he added.
The P10.2-billion funds, part of the total congressional insertions, were disbursed to the Department of Public Works and Highways on February 2010, or a few months before the next presidential elections that would replace the administration of Arroyo. Arroyo later ran as Pampanga representative and won.
Singson also said the funds were spent well before the elections ban on public works construction.
What could be deemed irregular from the transactions, however, were that some districts received a larger share than others did, Singson said.
“I’m just confused why some districts were getting substantially more than others,” he said.
The officials and their respective districts who received the larger share of the infrastructure funds were: former and incumbent Representatives Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte’s first district (P735 million), Exequiel Javier of Antique (P636 million), Alfrancis Bichara of Albay’s second district (P633 million), Elandro Jesus Madrona of Romblon (P609 million), Glenn Chong of Biliran (P570 million), Proceso Alcala of Quezon’s second district (P560 million), and Aurelio M. Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga’s third district that also happened to be Arroyo’s hometown (P502.5 million).
Among the allies of the Aquino administration who received the pork spree were Lorenzo Tañada III of Quezon’s fourth district (P220 million), Proceso Alcala of Quezon’s second district (P560 million) and Neptali Gonzales of Mandaluyong City (P120 million). Tañada is the spokesman of the ruling Liberal Party, and Alcala is agriculture secretary while Gonzales continues to be the Mandaluyong congressional representative.
RELATED STORY
Last-minute pork spree by Arroyo bared