The 'disaster-in-chief'

The collapse of several government-owned buildings and public structures in the Cebu earthquake will most likely add more fire to the ongoing investigations into various graft-tainted infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

- MARICHU A. VILLANUEVA

Parallel investigations are taking place at the Senate Blue Ribbon committee and the newly created Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI). Being grilled in these investigations were unscrupulous private contractors in cahoots with errant DPWH district engineers allegedly involved in the ghost flood control projects funded under the annual government budget.

The initial investigations have so far unmasked “proponents” of the questioned 2025 budget “insertions,” including senators and House members of the 19th and 20th Congresses who were namedropped by these contractors and DPWH district engineers in their sworn testimonies at these public hearings.

One of those named was former Senate president Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who was first implicated at the House infra committee hearing. Before he was ousted as Senate chief, Escudero was directly linked to one of the 15 contractors identified by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) as having cornered P545 billion worth of flood control projects of the DPWH for the past three years.

Lawrence Lubiano, owner of Centerways Construction and Development Corp., admitted at the House public hearing that he contributed to the election campaign of his “good friend” Escudero during the May 2022 national and local elections.

At the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia announced the seven-man poll body has “invited” Escudero to face investigation into allegations he might have violated the country’s election law on the limits of campaign contributions.