Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flood control projects and “ghost” projects exposé are just PR stunts.
“Si PBBM kasi akala niya babango siya sa mga ginagawa niya, when in fact, sa chain of command siya yung nasa taas and for the past three years he allowed that to happen. So, whose responsibility is that?” Duterte said.
Duterte added that if there is someone to blame for the flood control anomalies, it should be Marcos himself.
“So, ngayon mag-e-exposé siya kunwari sa mga congressmen niya na under din naman sa kanya. Ikaw ang President, ikaw ang pumirma ng budget na yan, tapos ngayon sisisihin mo, sino? In the first place bakit hindi mo sinigurado, kasi pinagyabang mo yan sa pangalawang SONA mo na may 5,500 flood mitigation projects ka. Tapos ngayon sisisihin mo ang ibang tao? Ikaw yung Presidente, ikaw ang executive ng buong bansa. If there is someone to blame with that would be him (Marcos),” he said.
Duterte reminded that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is the implementing agency for the said projects, is under the Office of the President.
He added that until no one is arrested for flood control project anomalies, Marcos’ exposé is just a “cooking show.”
“Ginagawa niya yan ngayon na PR stunt niya tapos kahit sinong pulitiko walang makukulong sa mga flood projects na yan ibig sabihin palabas lang yan. Kung seryos talaga siya, alam niya, may tinuro na siya na pangalan ng mga contractors na ini-exposé niya then why not file a case? Kahit isang congressman lang. Kung tumahimik bigla yan (issue) at walang nakulong, it’s just a cooking show,” Duterte said.
Last week, Marcos disclosed that 15 contractors’ projects constituted a significant portion of the total P545 billion spent on flood control projects nationwide since July 2022.
Duterte stressed that from the very beginning of Marcos’s term, he should have instructed all the government officials not to touch the people’s money.
“Anong ginawa niya? Gi-dismantle niya ang Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), yan yung watchdog ng corruption. So sinong responsible ngayon? Siya, eh itong mga nag-iingay ngayon na sumasakay sa plataporma kunwari ng presidente na may exposé siya, you ask the President himself. He is the only one who can fix this, hindi yung pagtuturo niya sa congress will not fix anything,” Duterte said.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte created the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) through Executive Order No. 43, which was signed on October 4, 2017.
Immediately after assuming the presidency on June 30, 2022, Marcos abolished the PACC through Executive Order No. 1, as part of a reorganization of agencies under the Office of the President in “abolishing duplicated and overlapping official functions”.
