Palace on VP Sara's tirade on flood control projects probe: That's preposterous

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro on Wednesday hit back at Vice President Sara Duterte for saying that President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. can address the anomalies on flood control projects within a day if he really wants to.

''Okay, isang araw lang, matatapos na ang imbestigasyon? (Only a day of investigation?) That is absolutely preposterous,'' Castro said at a briefing.

''Ang Pangulong Marcos Jr., hindi po siya nagsasagawa ng imbestigasyon ala tokhang way. Nirirespeto ng Pangulo ang due process. Nirirespeto ng Pangulo ang human rights, so kaya po dumadaan ang lahat sa proseso,'' she added. 

(The President does not conduct an investigation in a tokhang way. The President respects due process. The President respects human rights, so everything goes through a process.) 

Castro also said the Vice President should have also suggested this to her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who, in 2020, admitted that there were ghost projects within the Department of Public Works and Highways. 

To recall, the former president directed an audit of projects of the DPWH.

''Kung isang araw lang po dapat ito naimbestigahan, sana po ito ay kaniyang na-suggest noon sa kaniyang ama dahil mismo ang dating Pangulong Duterte ay umamin na maraming ghost projects, rampant noon. This is November 2020 inilabas. Pero may nasibak bang secretary ng DPWH sa panahon niya?'' Castro said. 

(If this will be probed for only a day, I hope she suggested this to her father because former President Duterte earlier admitted that there were a lot of ghost projects. They were rampant before. This was in November 2020. But was the DPWH secretary sacked under his term?) 

GMA News Online asked the Vice President's camp for comment on the matter but it has yet to reply as of posting time. 

The Vice President had likened the government’s investigation into ghost and anomalous flood control projects to a zarzuela.  She also said that the investigation was “too little, too late.” — RSJ/ VAL, GMA Integrated News