54 ‘pork’ projects on private land

MANILA, Philippines - Fifty-four infrastructure projects funded by seven Metro Manila lawmakers from their pork barrel funds were built or undertaken on private property, according to the Commission on Audit (COA) report on the congressional pork barrel.

The COA said the projects were worth a total of P161.5 million.

They were undertaken “on private properties without documents to support the turnover of such properties to the government,” it said.

“The prohibition on the use of public funds for the development of private properties was already settled by the Supreme Court” in a December 1960 case, it said.

Thirty-one multi-purpose buildings worth about P102 million were built in private subdivisions in Parañaque and funded by former representatives Roilo Golez and Eduardo Zialcita.

Of these, five projects involving P17.7 million were attributed to Golez, while three worth P6.9 million were credited to Zialcita.

It is not clear who funded most of the multi-purpose buildings. The auditors’ report merely states, “Not indicated.”

In Marikina, eight multi-purpose buildings and road improvement projects worth P32.1 million were built or undertaken also in private subdivisions.

Rep. Marcelino Teodoro and former congressman and now Mayor Del de Guzman provided the funds.

In Quezon City, then Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman provided P20.4 million for 10 projects mostly involving the rehabilitation of drainage systems in 10 barangay communities. Lagman’s son Edcel Lagman Jr. was a former Quezon City councilor. He has won the congressional seat vacated by his father in their home province.

Former Las Piñas congresswoman and now Sen. Cynthia Villar funded three projects in her city worth P690,000, while former Valenzuela representative and now Mayor Rex Gatchalian provided P3 million for an unspecified project in Sta. Lucia, Barangay Punturin in his city.

Barangay officials implemented Lagman’s projects, while district engineers did the projects of his six colleagues.

The COA report did not say who were at fault or who should be held responsible for the construction of multi-purpose buildings, repair of roads or drainage system rehabilitation in private properties.

Meanwhile, some congressmen, who did not want to be identified, suggested that COA Chairman Grace Pulido-Tan look into who erred in attributing a P3-billion fund release for road maintenance to former Compostela Valley Rep. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora.

They said Tan should apologize to Zamora if it was her auditors who committed the error.

In the COA report, Zamora topped the list of six senators and 68 members of the House of Representatives who received extra funds on top of their annual P200-million (for a senator) and P70-million (for a congressman) allocations from the Priority Development Assistance Fund, official name of the congressional pork barrel.