A big-time and strangely very influential Bicolano businessman is behind the multi-million peso anomalies in ghost and substandard projects in the Bicol Region.
Sources reaching PENINSULA MONITOR said the Bicolano businessman who is also a contractor succeeded in securing more than P1 billion for public works projects in Bicol before the May, 2007 election which largely went into his pocket, Bicol politicians collaborating with him and government officials who facilitated the approval of the fund allocation. Some projects were believed totally unimplemented and as President Arroyo herself commented while in Masbate late last year, “non-existent”.
“This Bicolano businessman could get projects more easily than any senator, congressman or governor presumably because he is able to immediately give out cash,” sources said.
Much of the fund allegedly went to desilting projects which are difficult to quantify and which are generally regarded as intended to cheat the government and the people.
Government investigators probing into the anomaly could easily trace the extent of corruption by getting a comprehensive list of budgetary allocations for Bicol, especially, Camarines Sur and Albay, outside of the regular infrastructure allotment, secure programs of work corresponding to such special allocations, determine contractors involved, find out if paid then conduct ocular inspections.
“It would be a tedious and even risky task but it has to be done to curb rampant corruption in government projects, perhaps worse than much-publicized frauds bannered in metropolitan media,” PENINSULA MONITOR informants said.
“Many Bicol politicians who have been conniving with the influential businessman in defrauding the government would be in hot water if government anti-graft bodies would only seriously look into this syndicate,” the informants added.
The project package of 12 projects in the Third District of Camarines Sur before the May, 2007 elections each costing P14,475,000.00 or about P170 million was believed part of more than P1 billion wangled by the Bicolano businessman from the government including the DPWH.
