Statement of Rep. Albee Benitez

Concrete solutions to our flooding problem begin by identifying those who may have failed to execute projects intended to protect communities and reduce the damage caused by heavy rains and typhoons.

The President, in following through on his commitment to publicize the names of the contractors involved in flood control projects, has taken the first real step to hold accountable those who benefit from public funds without delivering results.

The next step must be to ensure that every peso in our flood mitigation budget is spent on projects that actually protect lives and property—not fill the pockets of the corrupt.

While a thorough evaluation of these projects is conducted, the government should impose a temporary blacklist on any contractor with a history of unfinished, substandard, or grossly delayed flood control projects until they are cleared of wrongdoing. This will immediately protect our budget from further waste while emphasizing that incompetence and corruption will have immediate consequences.

Contractors should not be allowed to profit from the misery of our kababayan. Those who fail our people must be shut out from government projects until they prove they can be trusted again.*

 

Representative ALFREDO B. BENITEZ
Lone District Bacolod City