A former Cabinet member who will seek an elective post in the midterm elections next year “parked” at least P300mn worth of infrastructure projects in the proposed national budget for 2019, House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr has claimed.
Andaya said a mayor informed him that the former Cabinet member parked the allocation for flood-mitigation projects for Region 5, with the funds “to be released anytime soon.”
Region 5 or the Bicol Region is composed of the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Catanduanes and Masbate.
“A mayor from Region 5 approached me over the weekend and intimated that a former Cabinet official now seeking an elective seat was responsible for ‘parking’ at least P300mn in infrastructure projects in the proposed 2019 national budget,” Andaya said in a text message to reporters.
“The mayor approached me because he said that he only understood what has been happening now. They agreed to the parking scheme because they believe that it will benefit their constituents. He also clarified that he did not earn anything from the project,” the Majority Leader said.
Five Cabinet members resigned to seek elective posts next year include former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, former presidential adviser on political affairs Francis Tolentino, former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, former Foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, and former cabinet secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr.
Go, Tolentino, and Roque are running for senator. Evasco will run for Bohol governor, while Cayetano seeks to represent the first district of Taguig City-Pateros.
Andaya said the involvement of the unnamed Cabinet official and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in the parking scheme may explain the huge spike in budget for flood mitigation projects — from P79bn in 2017 to P133bn this year.
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno is being linked because since his in-laws, Mayor Edwin Hamor of Casiguran, Sorsogon and Sorsogon Vice Governor Ester Hamor, are said to be the “end beneficiaries” of the multi-billion infrastructure projects connected to CT Leoncio Construction and Trading which is allegedly tied to the unidentified former Cabinet official.
A daughter of the Hamors, Maria Minez Hamor, owns Aremar Construction Corp, which got P550mn after conducting at least four joint ventures with CT Leoncio. The latter had bagged government contracts worth billions.
“In Region 5 alone, P2.2bn was added to national flood-related projects from 2017 to 2018. We will find out based on the investigation of the House rules committee how much goes to CT Leoncio and the Aremar Construction. It looks like these are the favoured contractors of the DBM,” Andaya said.
In the proposed 2019 budget, P114.4bn was allotted for flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Public Works Secretary Mark Villar had claimed that he was not aware of the additional budget given to his department.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to sack Diokno.
Diokno admitted that the P51.7bn initially allocated for DPWH projects actually amounted to P75bn, and is part of the “President’s budget.”
“We want an infrastructure budget (that is higher) and we have fiscal space, so we decided to augment or add to the P480bn another P75bn, not P51bn,” Diokno said.
He maintained that the additional amount is not an insertion as it was part of the President’s budget. However, Andaya said Duterte did not have an idea where the amount came from.
Andaya’s revelation comes a few days after he announced that the House Committee on Rules would conduct an investigation on the issue on January 3. They also intend to summon Diokno regarding the questionable budget allocations on infrastructure projects by the DBM.
Rolando Andaya Jr: revelations
