Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong ‘has only himself to blame’ for his short-lived tenure as special advisor to the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI), a lawmaker said Thursday, after it was revealed that the controversy-dogged Discayas built a project in his city.
In a statement, House infrastructure committee chair Terry Ridon said Magalong’s failure to disclose that St. Gerrard Construction Company – owned by big-time contractor Pacifico ‘Curlee’ Discaya – had undertaken a ?110-million Baguio tennis court project ‘does not speak well of his actual commitment to transparency, accountability, and good governance.’
Curlee and his wife Cezarah are accused of enriching themselves through ghost and substandard projects implemented by their nine-company empire and of colluding with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials to secure lucrative contracts.
‘It is the height of hypocrisy for a public official who styles himself as a champion of transparency, accountability, and good governance to reject public scrutiny of projects within his own local government,’ Ridon said.
This, after Magalong claimed in a Senate hearing on Thursday that he might have ‘struck a nerve or several nerves’ during his stint at the ICI, which is tasked with investigating anomalous infrastructure projects over the past 10 years.
Tennis court project
This, he said, might be the reason for the ‘sudden below-the-belt accusation’ tagging the tennis court project as anomalous.
Magalong maintained that the tennis court project followed proper procurement and denied any irregularities, and that it was unfair to suggest he was corrupt ‘just because the Discayas have a project (in Baguio).’
The anti-corruption group Mayors for Good Governance (M4GG) likewise rallied behind Magalong, whom it said ‘cannot be bought, bullied, or swayed by favors or threats.’
Magalong resigned from the ICI last week after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a review of his role in light of the controversy. He was then replaced by former Philippine National Police chief Rodolfo Azurin.
Ridon, however, argued that the scrutiny was justified given the Discayas’ track record of poor infrastructure projects.
At the same time, the Bicol Saro lawmaker said, this would have ‘directly test(ed) Mayor Magalong’s integrity and commitment to transparency, as he himself, as the city’s Head of Procuring Entity, has engaged a contractor linked to ghost and substandard projects.’
He noted that Magalong had more than a month – from Marcos’ Aug. 11 disclosure of the Discayas’ role in anomalous projects to the family’s Sept. 2 admission that they controlled multiple firms, including St. Gerrard – to reveal the Baguio project, but kept silent until a news report surfaced on Sept. 20.
‘To be clear, there is no allegation at this point that the ?110-million Baguio City tennis court project is tainted with corruption, or that city officials received kickbacks from the Discayas. There is, however, a legitimate allegation that the project may be substandard-giving the public every reason to ask questions,’ Ridon said.
‘And more importantly, even the loudest champions of good governance should never reject scrutiny of their own projects,’ he added.