Palace not inclined to abolish DPWH

Malacañang on Monday said the government is not inclined to abolish the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) amid corruption issues in infrastructure projects, particularly the flood control programs.

''Sa ngayon po ay hindi pa po naiisip kung dapat itong i-abolish dahil dapat ang tanggalin dito ay iyong mga gumagawa ng mali. Madali naman pong malaman kung sino-sino ito at sa tulong na rin po ni Secretary Vince (Dizon), matatanggal po ang dapat matanggal sa ahensiya,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said at a briefing.

(It hasn't been thought of being abolished because those that need to be removed were those who had committed mistakes. It's easy to know who they are and through the help of Secretary Vince [Dizon], those that need to be removed will be removed from the agency.)

Castro pointed out that not everyone in the agency is involved in corruption.

''Ang departamento, hindi po lahat ng mga nangangasiwa at hindi po lahat ng mga taong-gobyerno sa DPWH ay masasabi nating gumagawa ng kamalian. May mga public servants pa rin po at public officials na masasabi nating tumutugon sa kanilang mga obligasyon,'' she said.

(Not everyone in the department is guilty of committing wrongdoings. There are public servants and public officials who are doing their obligations.)

It was Senator Sherwin Gatchalian who floated the idea of building a new DPWH due to alleged widespread corruption in the agency.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that it would take DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon years to clean up the agency, starting by filing cases against corrupt personnel. 

To recall, Dizon had said that he was eyeing to complete the reorganization of all DPWH officials from the highest ranks down to district engineers within the next 60 days, as part of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s sweeping directive to cleanse the agency. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News