‘Greed control’ is focal point of good governance advocacy

Serving in the President’s Cabinet could be a herculean task that entails a plenitude of sacrifice, as those like me who have experienced it would attest.

- SONNY COLOMA

Thus did I view with understanding former Public Works Secretary Rogelio ‘Babes’ Singson recent statement on declining areported offer to return to his old post — asubject that made this newspaper’s banner headline last week.

A professional manager in the business sector — he was MAP’s Management Person of the Year in 2024. — Babes Singson is fully aware of the magnitude of the task. Not one who would take on an invitation to serve anew in the Cabinet simply to buttress his curriculum vitae, he echoed an offer made by the Management Association of the Philippines to serve, pro bono, in atask group that would conduct an independent study on flood control projects. Public interest has been sparked since the Congress committee began to probe into alleged “ghost” projects in Bulacan, Oriental Mindoro, Benguet and other provinces.

During his six-year stint as DPWH Secretary, Singson said that a total of P182 billion was spent for flood control; in the past year alone, nearly double or P350 billion, has been spent. Why the amount has ballooned exponentially — and there has been a proliferation of huge projects — has been the object of public outcry for the past several weeks, after the controversy over Vice President Duterte’s impeachment waned.

He also said that when he left office in 2016, the DPWH had crafted a comprehensive flood control master plan “but (this) was not adopted by succeeding administrations,” referring to those headed by Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. But with the outcry spawned by apparent anomalies, Congress leaders have been espousing legislative oversight on patently overpriced flood control projects.