• GILBERT P. BAYORAN / THERESA MAE DULMAN
Bacolod Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez wants the Department of Justice (DOJ) to seek out and protect the Department of Public Works and Highways whistleblowers against what he calls “massive corrupt conspiracy at work”.
Benitez, in a statement, said the DOJ must not wait for witnesses to step forward “if we want to try, convict, and imprison all those who have plundered public funds intended to save our people from the threats of flooding.”
Thus, I urge the Department of Justice to seek out and protect under the mantle of the whistleblower program those officials and employees of the DPWH, along with other persons with key information, who wish to stand as witnesses, he added.
The fight to bring to justice those who endanger the lives of our people will be long and hard, Benitez admitted.
But it is something that we cannot set aside, if we wish to change things for the better – to have public infrastructure that takes no shortcuts and does not jeopardize life and safety, to have government processes that are free from corrupt practices, and to put fear in the hearts of those who would corrupt the system for material gain, the solon stressed.
Benitez earlier called on DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to immediately resign from his post, stressing that “the principle of command responsibility demands that he step down.”
OTHER OFFICIALS
His son, Third District Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez and four city vice mayors in Negros Occidental also joined the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for transparency and accountability on the alleged anomalous flood control projects.
The younger Benitez, in a statement, said that he agrees with the President on “the need for full transparency on where our flood control funds go.”
“We need full transparency on where our flood control funds go, and we need to check if these projects are real or just ‘ghost’ projects, and if they went through proper public bidding. These are billions of pesos meant to protect our homes, our farms, and our families,” the neophyte solon added.
Flood control should be more than concrete and canals. There should be peace of mind when rains come, he added.
Himamaylan City Vice Mayor Justin Gatuslao, Talisay City Vice Mayor Gab Villacin, Victorias City Vice Mayor Derek Palanca, and Cadiz City Vice Mayor Vincent Escalante also joined the nationwide call for transparency and accountability on the alleged anomalous flood control projects.
In a statement, Gatuslao said, “I am honored to be the first Vice Mayor from the Visayas to sign this statement of solidarity from the Vice Mayors for Good Governance. I also have no doubt that many more fellow VMs will answer this call. Let us create a movement that will restore transparency, civic engagement, and accountability at the core of what we do as public servants.”
In a separate statement, Villacin said he is proud to stand as one of the Vice Mayors from Negros who signed the Statement of Solidarity for Good Governance.
“Together with my fellow leaders, we affirm our commitment to uphold transparency, civic engagement, and accountability in public service,” he added.
“This is more than a pledge,” he said, adding “it is a movement that calls us to serve with integrity and put people first. Let us work hand in hand to build a government that our communities can truly trust.”*
