Newly appointed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon on Monday, Sept. 1, announced that contractors found engaged in ghost projects will be blacklisted for life.
In a press briefing in Malacanang, the new DPWH chief noted that he already asked for the permission of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. that private firms involved in illegal government projects will be banned forever.
“…These ghost projects and substandard projects, I have also cleared it with our President that the contractors of these ghost projects, first of all, I will impose a lifetime blacklisting, ban, immediately,” he said.
At the same time, Dizon added that there will no longer be investigation against these spurious contractors, if they are found to be engaged in illegal activities.
“When a project of a contractor is (a) ghost (project) or proven to be substandard, there is no more process, no more investigation, that contractor is automatically blacklisted for life,” he said.
He also reported that the Chief Executive is set to form an independent body to investigate these illegal projects involving flood control undertakings.
“And of course, there is also an associated case, and we will forward everything we get to the independent commission that our President will establish,” Dizon said.
“They will investigate and file appropriate cases against DPWH staff, contractors and others involved in these projects that were really ‘thrown into the river,’ to use the words of our President,” he added.
The new DPWH chief took his oath of office before Marcos on Monday in Malacanang. He replaced former secretary Manuel Bonoan, who resigned from his post on Sunday.
Prior to his new assignment, Dizon headed the Department of Transportation for six months.
Meanwhile, a major overhaul involving key officials will be implemented in the DPWH amid the controversial discover of substandard and ghost flood control projects.*PNA
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Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday that the appointment of Dizon is a welcome and necessary development that allows the President to clean house at the DPWH.
“When we repeatedly raised the need for Sec. Bonoan to step down, it was precisely to pave the way for new leadership with the competence and credibility to immediately confront the deep-seated systemic issues hounding the agency — especially corruption,” Benitez said.
“Dizon, coming from outside the entrenched structures of the DPWH, is in a position to look at its problems with a fresh eye. His track record in quickly addressing the problems in the DOTR gives us confidence that he can restore integrity, transparency, and efficiency to one of the government’s most critical departments,” he added.
“I called for Sec. Bonoan to take a leave of absence early on, and when anomalous and ghost flood control projects came out, I was one of those who demanded his resignation. His stepping down now is long overdue. It is something that should have happened a long time ago,” Benitez said.*CPG