The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) secured clearance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file 44 criminal tax evasion cases against three former public works officials over an alleged ₱1.68 billion in unpaid liabilities. In a statement, the BIR reported that the DOJ found probable cause to...
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Tuesday, June 16 vowed to hold the former bodyguards of ex-congressman Zaldy Co accountable for linking him and members of his family to the flood control scam. This, after the 18 ex-bagmen of Co accused the senator during a press conference led by former...
Sen. Erwin Tulfo said on Saturday, June 13, that Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan is being eyed to lead a subcommittee that will handle the chamber’s investigation into the anomalous flood control projects. In an interview on DWIZ, Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, explained that...
Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson on Saturday, June 13, lauded Sen. Erwin Tulfo for standing firm against peer pressure to tolerate wrongdoing when he upheld his duty to help disclose the truth behind the anomalies in defective and ghost flood control projects. Lacson cited Tulfo 's confirmation in...
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has flagged corruption as a major risk to Philippine infrastructure delivery, warning that the multibillion-peso flood-control corruption scandal show that current accountability safeguards remain insufficient to prevent the misuse of...
Reforms in public procurement, infrastructure oversight, and accountability must be fully carried out to ensure that the billion-peso flood-control corruption scandal does not happen again and those responsible are made to answer, according to four governance and business groups. In a joint...
President Marcos has denied allegations that the administration is targeting members of the Senate majority bloc facing legal troubles, insisting that the cases against them resulted from investigations and testimonies gathered by government agencies. Speaking to Manila-based reporters in Tokyo on...
The national government’s (NG) usual April budget surplus shrank by more than half this year after the annual income tax returns (AITRs) filing and payment deadline was extended by one month due to the national energy emergency, although revenues were partly supported by millions of pesos in...
Senators Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta were elected as vice chairpersons of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. The panel, now chaired by Senator Pia Cayetano, has yet to conclude its investigation into the anomalous flood control projects that allegedly involved former and...
During intense deliberations that preceded the 2005 enactment of the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) Law, which also covered oil and electricity, lawmakers defended the measure as a treasury-tightening mechanism; an unpopular but calculated imposition designed to raise massive revenues so it could...
The revelations in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman 's Report on the flood control scandal lay bare that corruption in public works is not incidental. It is clearly engineered. It flows through a coordinated network that cuts across agencies, offices, and even branches of government....
Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday, May 5, reiterated anew why he decided not to sign the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee 's partial committee report, which he called “unfinished” and lacking collective judgment. In a manifestation, Marcoleta asked if Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo...
