The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are in the process of implementing numerous reforms to prevent a repeat of the multibillion peso flood control scandal, the department’s chief official said.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon disclosed to members of the House Committee on Appropriations that amendments were made to their guidelines to prevent the anomalous use of the P107 billion “flood mitigation” projects under the proposed national budget.

Among the changes that Dizon stated was the agency’s decision to do away with the “flood control” tag in exchange for the more appropriate term of “flood mitigation.”

“I just want to emphasize that we will try not to use the word flood control anymore. We have had a lot of conversations with experts, specifically project NOAH, and we agree with them that we need to use better terminology because words matter,” he said.

“The word ‘control’ sends, I think, a wrong message because we can not really control floods,” he added.

Further justifying the use of the term, Dizon highlighted that even rich countries were struggling with flooding and that it was solely a matter of how the issue could be mitigated for the convenience of the public.

Several reforms

As for the actual reforms that the department implemented, Dizon said that he had ensured that all proposed projects had to be in accordance with carefully crafted master plans that were crafted through project and feasibility studies.

He explained that the lack of planning led to some initiatives not being properly implemented and left gaps in structures.

On top of ensuring that proposals were according to plan, Dizon said that one of the goals of the DPWH was to finish projects that were included in the flood control scandal.

The multibillion issue was said to have caused countless issues in various areas around the country, leading to more harm than good for the communities where the projects were situated.

Despite the initiative, however, he mentioned that their “hands were tied” for some projects as it was subject to the ongoing investigations of law enforcement agencies such as the Office of the Ombudsman, Department of Justice, and the National Bureau of Investigation.

“Even if we do want to fix these gaps, if this is subject of an investigation, particularly if it is subject to a suspension or disallowance of COA, we can not fix it,” Dizon explained.

When it came to new proposals, on the other hand, Dizon said that he made it a necessity for projects to have all necessary documentation before the same would be included in their budget.

Before, Dizon said that projects were included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) with just the project title and cost.

A part of those documentary requirements for projects was on-site geotagging since engineers were previously allowed to tag the locations of their projects through digital maps.

With the safeguards in place, Dizon issued a stern warning against any of its officials that were thinking of violating the guidelines.

“I just want to say to all of the members of the DPWH, if you cheat these safeguards like those before you, you will also wind up in jail,” he said.

The public works secretary likewise urged the public to coordinate with the DPWH for any anomalies that they may encounter in their respective areas.