There should be a proper process before projects are included in the NEP, including passing through the Municipal Development Councils and Regional Development Councils.
Share
In Disney’s animated Aladdin, the villain Jafar tells his equally wicked parrot, Iago, “I love the way your foul little mind works” — an oblique compliment that could just as easily apply to members of the House of Representatives and their ingenuity in devising new ways to resurrect the pork barrel.
Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco said the corruption in government projects has a new face and it could begin before construction starts or a contract is put out for bidding.
He claimed contractors immediately pay 20 percent as soon as the projects are inserted into the 2027 national budget.
In a radio interview on Saturday, Tiangco described the scheme as a different form of corruption, saying payments are made once the projects appear in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
“If the contractor is given P1 billion worth of projects, that means paying P200 million,” Tiangco said.
He said he researched NEP items that were not documented and were used by their proponents or influential officials to exercise power and influence over officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
He said the practice involved what he described as informal or undocumented “wish lists,” with contractors submitting projects for insertion into the budget.
According to Tiangco, the problem arises when the wish lists are “sold,” rather than being based on projects that will genuinely benefit the public.
Earlier, in an interview on Straight Talk of the Daily Tribune, Tiangco said the national budget was effectively “for sale,” with projects awarded not based on public need but to those willing to pay commissions.
Now, he said, the scheme has been fast-tracked through the NEP for a 20-percent cut for legislators.
He said projects should go through a proper process before being included in the NEP, including approval by the Municipal Development Councils and Regional Development Councils.
But he said this process could be bypassed when projects are being sold.
Tiangco said he was referring to how the system was done before and the authorities would have to determine if it is still happening today.
“It all starts with transparency,” he said.
The flood control scandal has renewed scrutiny of longstanding corruption in Philippine public works, particularly as the country remains highly vulnerable to disasters, flooding, climate change, and rapid urbanization.
Senate investigations have uncovered allegations of an organized kickback system involving private contractors and government officials, including political payoffs, favored bidders, ghost projects, and substandard infrastructure.
The controversy has also drawn attention to the alleged manipulation of flood control budgets and project insertions, as well as procurement practices that critics say have allowed public infrastructure funds to be treated as a new form of pork barrel.
Entrenched system
Investigations have pointed to the close ties among contractors, public works officials and political figures, raising broader questions about whether the accountability process can dismantle what critics describe as a deeply entrenched system of corruption.
Tiangco stressed the need for greater openness in the budget process, particularly as questions continue to surround flood control spending and alleged project insertions.
He said there should be transparency at every stage of the budget process and it should not be selective, noting that while bicameral conference committee proceedings are now public, other parts of the process remain difficult for ordinary citizens to scrutinize.
Tiangco also pushed to make district-level projects easier to access online, saying residents should be able to search their districts and immediately see the projects and corresponding budgets instead of having to sift through hundreds of pages of budget documents.
For Tiangco, there must be transparency before, not after, a scandal has erupted.
