PUBLIC Works Undersecretary Arrey Perez resigned on Friday, hours after a neophyte congressman identified him as having links to contractors.
Although Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste did not offer any proof to back his allegation, Perez resigned out of delicadeza.
Leviste on Friday morning identified Perez as one of the officials allegedly linked to contractors amid ongoing corruption issues within the agency.
While he admitted that he has yet to present concrete evidence, Leviste said he would leave it to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon to lead an investigation into the matter.
Hours after Perez resigned, however, Leviste practically soft-pedalled on his accusations.
Leviste clarified in a separate media interview that he was not claiming Perez personally met with three contractors, but maintained that the DPWH official still had alleged connections with several contractors.
The lawmaker noted that Perez’s previous record at the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), where Dizon also served, raised questions about their handling of bidding and procurement processes.
‘Among the appointees of Secretary Dizon, we can look at the record of the bidding and procurement of Secretary Dizon and Usec. Perez in the BCDA,’ Leviste added.
He further claimed that contractor influence in the DPWH remains widespread, with many officials allegedly being approached by private bidders.
Dizon said Perez submitted his irrevocable resignation to give way to the investigation and to prevent being a ‘distraction’ to the DPWH which is in the thick of investigation of allegedly anomalous flood control projects.
‘As of today [Friday], Undersecretary Perez is no longer part of the DPWH. He voluntarily resigned, and we respect his decision,’ Dizon said in a news conference.
‘But of course, the investigation will still continue,’ he added.
The investigation within the DPWH, Dizon said, ‘will not be affected by personalities, political affiliations or past associations. The cleansing process will spare no one and show no favoritism, whether they’ve been here before, have already resigned, are from the previous administration, or are people I personally brought in.’
‘No one will be exempt, and that’s what we need to do,’ he said.
Saying that merely replacing people is not enough and that the entire system must change, House Committee on Approriations Vice Chairman Leviste urged Dizon to implement sweeping reforms within the agency to end what he described as a deeply entrenched culture of corruption and collusion between certain officials and contractors.
‘I heard that he was being considered to oversee the procurement or bidding of major projects at the DPWH central office. My point is that we should reform the system itself-replacing the people handling project biddings won’t eliminate corruption,’ Leviste said.
Aside from Perez, Leviste claimed that there are other officials within the DPWH who may also have ties to contractors. ‘I am calling on them to voluntarily disclose the contractors they have met with since the start of their term-whether these meetings happened inside or outside the office-and to reveal any connections they might have,’ Leviste stated.
‘The solution is not just changing the personalities involved. If we fail to fix the system, corruption might simply shift from the district engineering offices to the DPWH central office,’ he added.
Instead, Leviste called for broad policy reforms within the DPWH. ‘What I’m asking for is a reform in the DPWH’s policies-such as lowering project costs and disclosing budget details. If we do this, even if officials meet with contractors outside the DPWH, it will be clear that there’s no intent to profit illicitly because prices have already been reduced and the budget allocations have become transparent,’ Leviste said.