Manila second district Congressman Rolan ‘CRV’ Valeriano thanked Department of Public Works and Higways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon for visiting the non-working Sunog Apog Pumping Station in Tondo, Manila and called on him and the Independent Committee on Infrastructure (ICI) to ensure that necessary repairs are done properly and DPWH officials, contractors and even politicians involved are charged accordingly.
The lawmaker underscored that those behind the project worth a staggering P774 million, must be held criminally, civilly and administratively accountable, noting how the people in his district in Tondo have suffered due to negligence or anomalies attendant to the project.
Valeriano issued the call as he expressed high appreciation for the personal visit made by Dizon to the Sunog Apog Pumping Station in Tondo, Manila.
“Clearly, that non-operational pumping station is the result of culpable supervision of DPWH engineers and substandard work by DPWH contractors MSB Vitug/J.D. Legaspi Construction,” Valeriano stated.
He added: “In September 2023, the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, which I then chaired, investigated the matter and found out that the DPWH had already fully paid the contractors a total of P774 million, despite the defects that rendered the facility useless.”
According to Valeriano, the MMDA itself testified before Congress that there were serious flaws in the project.
He explained that the House investigation was only in aid of legislation, and it thus limited to fact-finding and recommendations only and that the mandate to file charges and recover wasted funds now lies with the DPWH and the ICI, which must determine if the Sunog Apog Pumping Station was the product of unscrupulous congressional “insertions” prior to its construction in 2018 or if it was part of a modus operandi similar to the so-called Bulacan Group of Contractors.
He added: “They must also answer the question: where is MSB Vitug/J.D. Legaspi Construction now, and have they been blacklisted?”
The lawmaker pointed out that last May, the DPWH awarded a separate P94 million contract to LeBron Construction, a proprietorship, just to make the facility operational.
“This means that taxpayers’ money will again be used to fix a project that should have been working from the start. The spending and implementation of this new contract must be closely monitored to avoid a repeat of past mistakes,” stressed Valeriano.
Valeriano said he will request the Committee Secretariat to formally forward the official report of the House probe to Dizon and the ICI.
