Bonoan vows intensive audit on damaged dikes in Oriental Mindoro

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan on Tuesday vowed that the agency would conduct an intensive audit on the damaged dikes in Oriental Mindoro. 

''I want to know sino ba ang contracting office nito, sino nag-supervise, sino nangontrata. Titingnan namin ito, bubusisiin namin. We have to go through an intensive audit, technical and financial audit on these particular projects in Mindoro,'' Bonoan said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB. 

(I want to know who's the contracting office, who supervised, who entered into the contract. We will scrutinize this. We have to go through an intensive audit, technical and financial audit on these particular projects in Mindoro.) 

Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor expressed his dismay over the damaged dikes in his province, which was hit by floods due to the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat and the consecutive storms last month, even as these were put up fairly recently.

Over the weekend, Dolor inspected several dikes, including one in Mulawin, Naujan, where a security guard initially refused to let officials enter, as he said he received orders from the management not to let anyone in without a written request from the DPWH.

The governor also inspected another flood control project in Barangay Tagumpay in Naujan, which he said cost P1 billion for one kilometer, noting that he only saw one piece of metal rod, a waste of funds when compared with the Capitol's P2-billion budget for a year.

In an Unang Balita report on Tuesday, Dolor said that contractors in charge of the failed dikes should no longer be awarded with projects.

“Kung may kontratista ditong pumalpak at hindi sumunod sa specification, bukod sa ma-bar ito, bukod sa masuspinde, dapat ito tama na. Huwag na bigyan ulit ng proyekto,” he said.

(If there are contractors who failed and did not follow the specifications, other than being barred and suspended, they should be stopped. They should no longer be given projects.)

Based on the report, 6 out of the 9 dikes that collapsed in the province last June were done by Sunwest Incorporated, while another was made by St. Timothy Construction Corporation—both of which part of the 15 contractors that bagged 20% of the country’s flood control projects, as named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The total cost of the collapsed dikes added up to P1.9 billion.

Dolor noted that the dikes had substandard construction using substandard materials.

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 4B had already called for an investigation into the matter and fired the project engineer.

Oriental Mindoro is one of the flood-prone areas recently cited by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who has ordered a review of the flood control projects across the country.

During his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July, Marcos warned government personnel who steal public funds—such as those for flood control projects—to have some shame.

Marcos had launched a website for citizens to report on flood control projects. He said 20% of the P545-billion budget for flood control projects was awarded to only 15 contractors, five of whom have contracts across the country. —KG/RF, GMA Integrated News