By Benjamin Cuaresma
TAGUIG CITY — A newly formed citizens’ group has turned up the heat over alleged irregularities in P2.8 billion worth of projects in Taguig City, demanding that the Senate, Ombudsman and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) launch a comprehensive investigation.
The Nagkakaisang Damdamin ng Mamamayan Laban sa Korapsyon (NADAMAKO) staged a protest rally Sunday, accusing those behind the projects of potentially diverting public money intended for flood protection.
The group wants authorities to investigate alleged “ghost” flood-control projects, an unauthorized C6 reclamation project and 42 other projects it described as questionable.
NADAMAKO convenor Jun Menia said taxpayers’ money intended to protect communities from flooding should never become a source of profit for a select few.
He questioned the alleged use of materials meant for flood-control purposes as filling material for the C6 area, saying the situation demands answers from the agencies responsible for the projects.
For the group, the central question is simple: Were the projects actually built, and where did the money go?
NADAMAKO called for investigators to examine the projects’ implementation, funding, documentation and legality and determine who authorized and benefited from them.
The group also praised Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson for raising the issue of alleged corruption involving flood-control projects in Taguig at the Senate.
NADAMAKO said Lacson’s efforts helped bring the allegations into the open and created an opportunity for the government to pursue accountability.
The group said the issue should no longer be buried in paperwork or dismissed without a full accounting.
NADAMAKO urged the Senate, Ombudsman and DPWH to pursue the allegations and establish whether billions of pesos in public funds were spent on projects that were incomplete, unauthorized or nonexistent.
The group said those responsible must be held accountable if an investigation confirms wrongdoing.
The protesters’ demand comes as scrutiny of flood-control spending intensifies, placing government agencies under growing pressure to prove that projects funded by taxpayers’ money actually exist and serve their intended purpose.
For NADAMAKO, the message is blunt:
Money appropriated to keep Filipinos safe from floods must not disappear into projects that exist only on paper.
ia/xf
