(UPDATE) NEWLY appointed Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday said he would abolish the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) internal investigation team for anomalous flood control projects, saying that a department cannot investigate itself.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Subic, Dizon said any investigation into the workings of the DPWH should be conducted by an independent party.

“First of all, with all due respect to the officials who formed the task force, I do not believe that an organization should investigate itself. I don’t think that’s right,” he said in an ambush interview.

Dizon said he understood that the team was formed at a time when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had not yet said that there would be an independent commission to investigate anomalies at the DPWH.

However, the DPWH chief said that now that the independent commission was being finalized, they must respect it.

“I think we should respect the wisdom of our President. That is why I will dissolve it today,” Dizon said.

“The President has already spoken — he will establish an independent commission. Let us give the independent commission the responsibility and authority to investigate,” he added.

Dizon also assured the public that the information gathered by the internal probe committee would be forwarded to the independent commission.

“All of that will be turned over to the independent commission. That, in my view, is what should happen. Together with the new team coming into the DPWH, we will gather information within the department, and we will hand it over to the independent commission,” he said.

Former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan, who recently stepped down as head of DPWH, said he had formed an anti-graft and corrupt practices committee to clean up the agency.

On Monday, Dizon ordered the courtesy resignation of all ranking officials of the department amid allegations of anomalies in flood control projects.

President Marcos earlier said he would issue an executive order that would formally create the independent commission that would look into flood control projects.

“The independent commission will be the investigative arm, so that they will continue to investigate whatever information is received. It will be sent to them, they will investigate it, and they will make recommendations as to how to proceed,” Marcos said.

Dummy companies

Also on Tuesday, Sen. Erwin Tulfo raised the possibility that contractors’ licenses are being rented out by dummy companies and even by DPWH officials.

New DPWH chief Dizon: "A department can't investigate itself"

The senator said that based on the information he received, there is what they call “in-house construction.”

“They do not construct — they only have their licenses rented out,” Tulfo said in a television interview.

“The DPWH borrows or even buys the license of a contractor, then proceeds with the project. In some cases, they do not build at all,” he said.

He noted the suspicious behavior of Wawao Builders’ Chief Executive Officer Mark Allan Arevalo, who failed to respond properly during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee public hearing on Monday.

“He was shivering. He was really nervous. It was evident [in his body language],” Tulfo said.

He also cited the case of St. Timothy Construction President Maria Roma Rimando, who was unable to articulate her role in the firm.

“Would you believe that they are the real owners? They looked more like staff than billion-peso contractors. If you owned billions worth of projects, you should at least be able to express yourself properly. But they’re not like that,” Tulfo said.

Tulfo also raised the possibility that DPWH and Commission on Audit (COA) officials connived on ghost and substandard projects.

The senator said COA personnel should personally inspect projects on the ground instead of simply relying on documents.

“It is COA’s job to provide a true report. Right now, it’s clear they are not doing enough to flag substandard flood control projects. Have they seen them? If yes, they should have reported them,” he said., This news data comes from:http://xm-bd-tb-ucij.jyxingfa.com

Budget changes

Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, said they would work with budget officials and the DPWH to realign at least P51.82 billion in questionable insertions in the proposed 2026 national budget.

Lacson flagged the lump-sum allocations, which he described as vague and potentially prone to misuse, during a briefing of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

He noted that the items included multiple entries for flood management programs in Metro Manila and Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), and 3 (Central Luzon) with identical costs but lacking specific project details.

“Senator Gatchalian and I want to remove these vague entries in the NEP (National Expenditure Program). It seems those who inserted these items plan to make them ghost projects. We could not identify who inserted them,” Lacson said.