By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
The preponderance of corruption in government contracts is an open secret that, while deplorable, has become disturbingly normalized. It’s one of those things that are adamantly unacceptable, yet we’d rather not find out how much was skimmed from public coffers.
Perhaps, many of us would rather not find out because of weariness and dread, fearing the truth would only deepen our disillusionment. Or, perhaps, we would avoid it to spare ourselves the frustration and hurt each time we pay our taxes.
But there’s this video clip of Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong that may just change our minds about being distant from the harsh reality. It is a “lecture” similar to what he delivered as a guest of honor and speaker at the Lions International Multiple District Convention held in his city last May.
In it, Magalong candidly exposes the shocking breakdown of government project funds, where up to 70% is siphoned off by politicians, agencies, and committees before any meaningful work begins.
Here’s how he breaks it down: Politicians take a staggering 25-40% of the total project funds, with an average of 30%; value-added tax (VAT) accounts for 7%, and insurance takes another 1%; the implementing agency skims about 10-15%, averaging around 12%; the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) gets 2%; and there’s a contingency fund of 3% also deducted for when claiming checks and covering inspections and the sort.
In the end, only about 30% of the original budget is left for the actual project — hardly enough to deliver the quality that the public deserves. Attendees of Magalong’s talk, organized by the Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan (ANIM), were utterly speechless.
Suddenly, the corruption we’ve grown tired of hearing about becomes personal — our hard-earned money, stolen in plain sight, at the expense of public progress.
This kind of institutionalized corruption must be rooted out. And while Firing Line thanks Magalong for bringing this to light in small circles of concerned Filipinos, much more should be done by well-meaning officials like him to truly uphold the public good.
The mayor claimed this information on the distribution of project funds came from a contractor and is generally the SOP (standard operating procedure) in government contracts across regions.
Such whistleblowers must come out, be protected by well-meaning officials in government, and be investigated with the goal of prosecuting all involved. Otherwise, we are but a nation complicit in the brazen theft of public resources.
We have formidable anti-corruption laws, rules on increased transparency, and campaigns to implement stronger checks and balances in the bidding process. The government has to make these mechanisms work.
Citizens like us must also be vigilant and demand that our local officials, the ones we elect, are not party to this crazy sharing that undermines the principles of public service and violates both the law and their moral obligation to their constituencies.
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SHORT BURSTS. For comments or reactions, email firingline@ymail.com or tweet @Side_View. Read current and past issues of this column at http://www.thephilbiznews.com
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