Dizon vows probe, removal of DPWH officials if contractor links proven
MANILA, Philippines — Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon vowed to immediately remove and charge any Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official found to have conflicts of interest.
In a statement Thursday, October 16, Dizon said he has ordered a review within the department following Rep. Leandro Leviste’s (Batangas, 1st District) claim that some DPWH members may be involved in private contracting activities.
“Kung meron siyang specific, ang commitment ko sa kanya at sa lahat ng ating mga kababayan, dahil na rin sa direktiba ng Pangulo na siguraduhing luminis na finally itong DPWH, tatanggalin ko po ‘yung taong ‘yun immediately. At kung kinakailangan, kakasuhan ko pa ‘yung taong ‘yun,” Dizon said. (If he has anyone specific, my commitment to him and to all of our citizens—because this is the directive of the President: to make sure that the DPWH is clean—I will remove that person immediately. And if needed, we will file a case against that person.)
Following his appointment as DPWH secretary, Dizon has already ordered for the courtesy resignation of all DPWH officials. That order is still in effect, he said.
From the undersecretaries that Dizon brought on, none of them were contractors, as far as he knew, but he would still verify the allegations.
The DPWH has long been regarded as a corruption hotspot, with past reports linking regional and district engineering offices to ghost projects and kickback schemes. Several former officials from the Bulacan First District Engineering Office have admitted to a kickback operation involving lawmakers’ budget insertions—an alleged scheme believed to have diverted billions of pesos. Several senators and other high-profile officials are already being implicated.
Leviste's claims
Earlier that day, Leviste called on the DPWH to be transparent, saying he received information that some its officials may also be operating as contractors or meeting with contractors outside the department.
At a press briefing, Leviste said he received information from what he only described as reliable sources.
“Not only did one person tell me that they heard that members of the team are actually contractors, that other members of the team have already been meeting with contractors outside of DPWH and they are already asking for something,” Leviste said.
The lawmaker then urged Secretary Dizon to check whether any of his appointees are involved in such arrangements. He also urged the Public Works chief and his team to disclose any possible connections they would.
Leviste said that while he was not shown direct evidence, a person from within the DPWH—who called him during the briefing—acknowledged that there were contractors working as regional directors or district engineers. He said the caller assured him that an internal check would be conducted.
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