IBINULGAR ni Senador Panfilo Lacson nitong Miyerkoles sa ginanap na deliberasyon ng badyet ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) ang ilang overlapping projects o may item na doble-doble ang pondo na nagkakahalagang P6.832 bilyon.

Ayon kay Lacson, ang ilang insertions o isiningit na badyet ng ilang district representatives ay nagkakahalagang mula P620 milyong hanggang P15.351 bilyon.

“There’s a list of 739 line items for MPBs (multi-purpose buildings) with a uniform allocation of P1 million each. If a P2-million project would only come up with a skeletal structure, can you imagine how an MPB with P1-million allocation would look? Ang total po lahat nito P474,804,707,000,” giit niya.

Idinagdag pa ni Lacson na: “Now we’re looking at billions, from one to 220 districts more than P1 billion. Our source here is the HoR itself. And according to our sources, they had a hand in the preparation of this list. So, I am not blaming the (Public Works) department when it appears this way.”

Inihalimbawa ni Lacson sa double appropriations ang P1.791 bilyong badyet para sa pagkukumpuni ng Davao City Coastal Bypass Road, na dumaan mula Bago Aplaya-Times Beach-Roxas Avenue.

Aniya, may hiwalay na alokasyon din na nagkakahalagang P4.09 bilyon para sa Davao City Coastal Bypass Road na dumaan sa Bago Aplaya-Times Beach-Roxas Avenue.

“We’d like to get an explanation because this appears to be a double appropriation, only one item. There’s no sectioning. The description of the items is the same. It appears that it’s only one project. If we add P1.709 billion and P4.449 billion, the total amount of duplicated projects would be P6.169 billion,” ayon kay Lacson.

Sinabi ni Lacson na kanilang natagpuan ang double appropriations sa sumusunod na panukalang proyekto: Kennon Road to Bypass Road Baguio City, P53 million; Iguig Bypass Road sa Cagayan,

P51.9 million; Balagtas Flyover sa Batangas City, P166.3 million; MPB site development sa Barangay Carmay East sa Rosales, Pangasinan, P177.5 million; at pagtatayo ng convention center sa Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental, P174.3 million.

“At the outset, let me be clear about one thing. When I and my staff scrutinize the budget of the DPWH and raise issues on the appropriations and utilization of funds by the agency, we do so without the slightest intent of casting doubt on the integrity of [Public Works] Secretary [Mark] Villar and any of his undersecretaries,” ayon kay Lacson.

Pero, sinabi ni Lacson na kung mayroong “proof of evidence” na ang kalihim o sinomang opisyal na sangkot, direkta man o hindi sa korapsiyon, “hindi ako magdadalawang-isip na sabihin ito sa pagmumukha nila.

Sinabi ni Lacson na wala siyang naririnig na tsimis na sangkot si Secretary Villar sa anomalya.

“Having said that, I would like to state for the record that I agree with President [Rodrigo] Duterte, albeit not completely, that Secretary Villar is not corrupt. Not because he is rich but because he is not corrupt, period,” giit ni Lacson. (ESTONG REYES)