'Pure criticism': Castro hits back at alleged 'slow' flood control investigation
"Anim na taon na ang lumipas pero wala pa rin siyang nagagawa patungkol sa isyu ng rock netting."
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"Anim na taon na ang lumipas pero wala pa rin siyang nagagawa patungkol sa isyu ng rock netting."
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Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro hit back at Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s frustration over the alleged slow progress of the investigation into anomalous flood control projects.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, 11 August, Castro addressed the mayor's statement, asserting that "many have already been investigated" nearly a year into the process since the probe began last year.
The issue stemmed from Magalong expressing his disappointment amid renewed flooding in various parts of the country caused by heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon (habagat).
“Frustrating and very disappointing. Senador pa lang ang nagagalaw... ‘Yung mga congressman, wala pa, pangiti-ngiti lang sila. ‘Yung iba nga sa kanila nandiyan pa (Only senators have been acted upon... The congressmen, nothing yet, they're just smiling. Some of them are even still in there),” Magalong said.
In response, Castro brought up Magalong’s own admission that he had started investigating the rock netting project along Kennon Road as far back as 2019—one of the first projects questioned when the flood control controversy broke out.
Castro added that even former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV previously called out the mayor for failing to disclose the names of the individuals behind the project.
"Anim na taon na ang lumipas pero wala pa rin siyang nagagawa patungkol sa isyu ng rock netting (Six years have passed, yet he has done nothing regarding the rock netting issue)," Castro emphasized. "So sino po kaya ang mas mabagal? (So who is actually slower?)"
The Palace official further reminded: "Kung may kakayahang mamintas at magturo, dapat ay may kakayahan ding kumilos para makatulong sa gobyerno at hindi puro pamimintas lang ang alam (If one has the capacity to criticize and point fingers, one should also have the capacity to act and help the government, rather than knowing nothing but pure criticism)."
