Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Sunday, 31 August, questioned the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s internal investigation to curb corruption following controversies involving substandard and ghost flood control projects.

Lacson said measures such as the DPWH creating an anti-corruption body and imposing a travel suspension on its employees are not enough to convince the public that the agency can cleanse itself.

"Good luck to all of us if they will investigate themselves. Imagine, it's like assigning an investigating panel made up of inmates in Bilibid to see if there are irregularities in the New Bilibid Prison," he said in Filipino during an interview on DZBB.

In a separate interview on DWIZ Saturday afternoon, Lacson said that lifestyle checks and similar measures may not be enough to curb corruption, stressing the need for the “logical conclusion” — charging, convicting, and jailing the culprits.

"The lifestyle check is a good start so investigating agencies will know where to focus. But for me, the bottom line is that there should be people charged, convicted and jailed. Nothing short of that will discourage those involved in corruption," he said.

He added that those engaged in anomalies are closely watching how the issue unfolds to see if anyone is punished.

"If you are in the bureaucracy and you see those who are punished, you will think twice before following in their footsteps. But if you see them not being punished, you will be tempted to join them," Lacson said.

Still, Lacson welcomed that the public is becoming more vigilant, citing netizens who visit project sites and disclose their findings. He encouraged citizens to also highlight properly implemented projects as good examples.

He even said he is considering offering one month’s pension to witness a properly implemented, corruption-free project that works as intended.

"People are now awake and aware. We must not let go of this because we have gained momentum. Hopefully this will lead to positive developments," he said.

Shared responsibility

In his DZBB interview, Lacson reiterated his call for full transparency in the budget so lawmakers can have a “shared responsibility” for projects they insert in the national budget.

Without this, he said, multiple insertions will continue to slip into the spending plan — starting from the National Expenditure Program (NEP), where DPWH officials invite lawmakers to insert projects, to the House and Senate versions of the budget bill, and finally at the bicameral conference committee.

"There are insertions in the NEP, in the House, in the Senate, and the bicam. That is a multiple whammy for us taxpayers," he said.

"If we want full transparency we must trace who made what amendments so there will be shared responsibility. If something goes wrong with the implementation of a project, the lawmaker shares responsibility for it," he added.