MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday pledged to take decisive action against individuals involved in the deteriorating flood control infrastructure in Calumpit, Bulacan.
Marcos made the vow after inspecting the rehabilitation of the river protection structure along Barangay Bulusan and the flood mitigation structure in Barangay Frances.
“Hahanapin natin kung sinong responsible dito, sa gobyerno, sa private. Kailangan managot sila sa kanilang ginawa (We have to find out who’s responsible for this, whether from the government or the private sector. They must be held accountable for what they have done),” he said in an interview after the site inspection.
The river protection structure was built by St. Timothy Construction Corporation, while the flood mitigation structure was constructed by Wawao Builders.
The two firms are among the top 15 contractors that secured most of the flood control projects nationwide.
Marcos flagged the substandard flood control work of the two contractors, citing the signs of concrete deterioration caused by their failure to comply with project specifications.
He noted that both contractors reported the flood mitigation projects as “completed.”
“Hindi ginawa. Ito na naman, the same thing. Kapag titignan mo ‘yung mga report sa atin, completed lahat, meron na naman iyan (It wasn’t done. Here we go again, the same thing. When you look at the reports submitted to us, everything’s marked as completed, it’s all there again),” Marcos said. “Tapos, ito na naman ‘yung quality. Madaling-madaling makita. (Then, here comes the issue with the quality. It’s very easy to see).”
Marcos also expressed dismay over the contractors’ false claims regarding the completion of dredging and desilting works in areas where the flood control structures were built.
“Meron dapat desiltation. Doon na naman sa kontrata, desiltation, dredging, completed. Tignan naman niyo, paano magiging completed iyan. Tignan niyo, may isla sa gitna, tinutubuan ng damo. Masukal na iyan. Ibig sabihin, matagal na silang hindi nagde-dredge (Then there was supposed to be desiltation. Again, in the contract, desiltation and dredging are marked as completed. But look at it — how can that be considered completed? Look, there’s an island in the middle, grass is growing on it. It’s already overgrown. That means they haven’t been dredged in a long time),” he said. (PNA)
