The unbroken chain of big public works contracts

EYES WIDE OPEN

- IRIS GONZALES

The plot thickens every day as this jaw-dropping flood-control scandal continues to unravel.

Here's what we know so far:

First, the ongoing investigation is incomplete because the masterminds, including the lawmakers themselves and ranking DPWH officials, are not being named.

Second, the unscrupulous district engineers have no qualms about spending taxpayers' money — from tossing our money in casinos to buying luxury watches and sports cars. One district engineer bought a Lamborghini for P38 million — in cold cash.

Third, as the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reported, this ugly reality of public works corruption has cut across administrations.

And here lies one major problem. When the going gets tough, contractors simply change their corporate names, but the owners remain the same.

As an example, some companies in President Marcos' Top 15 contractors — Legacy Construction Corp. and Alpha & Omega General Contractor & Development Corp. — trace their lineage back to the Duterte administration's own Top 10 contractor list, which was published by PCIJ in 2018.

And yet, they have reappeared, telling us a deeper story. This means that this is not only about budgets and projects. This is really about dynasties that endure from presidency to presidency.

The Abelidos' Legacy Construction Corp., as it turned out, was among the largest recipients of infrastructure contracts nationwide during the Duterte administration.

Despite red flags raised by COA, the company managed to secure multibillion-peso awards. And yet, the company continues to thrive under the Marcos administration.