MAGALONG (FB)
BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin Magalong maintained that his advocacy against corruption will continue, especially in government infrastructure projects involving several politicians and personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Magalong’s exposure of government corruption intensified when President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., in his recent State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), mentioned anomalies in flood control projects in various parts of the country.
Last year, Magalong exposed overpriced DPWH projects in the Cordillera region in the cat eyes or reflector lights projects on roads, yellow barriers, and rock netting.
He said the actual price of a cat eye is only P1,350 per piece, but the DPWH's detailed price analysis showed it is P11,720, overpriced by P10,370 each.
Magalong said the yellow barriers found on highway curves have a budget of P121,330 per meter of road, but the actual price is said to be P20,000, a kickback per meter of than P100,000.
He added that the price of rock netting is P6,000 per square meter but the DPWH listed it at P25,000 in 2023.
He said that the if rock netting purchased for the Cordillera region from 2017 to 2023 is totaled, it amounts to P46.61 billion with an estimated P28 billion going to kickback.
“I used to ask for data information or documents from DPWH, but they played with me and tricked me. Sometimes I also requested the Regional Development Council to compel DPWH to provide me with documents for contracts, but DPWH told me that they would provide me with a link, but we have been clicking on the link for a week and we can’t find anything there. So, I talked to NEDA, that’s where we saw the seriousness,” Magalong said.
Magalong said that he is ready to appear anywhere, especially in Congress, to uphold his revelations against corruption.