If SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta would have his way, he would have the Commission on Audit (COA) conduct more timely audits on flood control projects.
'Nagawa ba nang totoo?': Marcoleta wants more timely audit of flood control projects
At a glance
SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (Facebook)
If SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta would have his way, he would have the Commission on Audit (COA) conduct more timely audits on flood control projects.
Marcoleta said that doing so would allow the government to immediately assess the quality of such projects and get answers from the contractors.
"Nagawa ba nang totoo yun? Natapos ba sa [specifications]? Baka mamaya isang kilometro yun pero ang tinapos mo ay kalahating kilometro lang. So wala rin mangyayari, wala ring kapupuntahan pala yung ginawa mo. Dapat ito, may audit lahat yan," Marcoleta recently said in recent television interview.
(Was the project done for real? Was it finished based on the specifications? Maybe the project called for a kilometer but you only finished half a kilometer. So nothing will happen, you project will be for naught. These should all be audited.)
He gave these remarks after heavy rains from Typhoon "Carina" and the southwest monsoon (Habagat) caused extensive flooding in Metro Manila and several parts of Luzon last week.
"Ang nangyayari saying COA kasi...alam mo naman, post-audit (What happens with COA is...you know it, they conduct post-audit)," Marcoleta said.
"Ayan, hindi pa nga na-post-audit, sasabihin ngayon na, 'Lahat po ika ng flood control project ay sablay po'. Huwag na po kayong mag-audit, nakita na po namin eh," said the former deputy speaker.
(Now, a post-audit as yet to be done but they can already say, "All of your flood control projects have failed.' Don't audit anymore, we've already seen the results.)
Marcoleta said he would have preferred an assessment of such projects "right from the start".
At any rate, the veteran solon says the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) can help pinpoint these projects.
"Baka yung pagkakagawa ang may problema. So hanapin mo ngayon lahat ng mga contractor ng flood control projects na yan, siyasatin, i-audit lahat yan. Papanagutin ang dapat na managot dyan," he said.
(Maybe the way it was done was faulty. So you must look for all the contractors of these flood control projects, investigate them, audit them all. Hold accountable all that have to be help accountable.)