An investigative panel of courage and integrity

The press conference of President BBM has created a maelstrom of reactions when he named the 15 top contractors who control 20 percent of the P500-billion flood control projects in the recent past.

- ELFREN S. CRUZ

He admitted what we all know — that even as we spend more and more money on these projects, the floods get worse every year. This is not surprising since barely 30-40 percent of the budget is actually spent on flood control, while the rest go into the "pockets" of many people.

While this is all common knowledge, it captured the headlines because it was a President of the Philippines that came out with these accusations.

The reactions from different sectors and personalities are, of course, varied. Former Public Works secretary Babes Singson posted a short but educational message on this issue. He wrote that it is really corruption that has stopped our full potential as a country. He further said: "I have done an in-depth study and it even started when the Philippines was paid Reparations Compensation in cash and in form of basic industrial plant including car assembly, welding electrodes, ship building, propeller manufacturing. None of these were ever used to start Philippine industrialization, all due to corruption."

Singson was referring to the Reparations Compensation paid by the Japanese government to the Philippine government after the Second World War as compensation for destruction wrought by the Japanese in the Philippines during the war.