Former lawmakers Teodoro ‘Teddy’ Casiño and Liza Maza said on Tuesday that the call of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to abolish the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is not serious.
Casiño claimed that this suggestion was ‘politiko-speak,’ adding that the government can’t function without a public works and highways department.
‘Abolish the DPWH? That’s just political talk, pure bluff. They’ll just create another one anyway. It’s the same old deception from politicians.,’ Casiño, speaking in Filipino, told the Inquirer.
The former congressman also suggested that ‘perhaps, it should be the Senate and Congress that should be abolished,’ citing that its members get the biggest percentage of alleged kickbacks.
Similarly, Maza shared that the suggestions are not true, saying in English: ‘that suggestion was just to make them look good, and become a headline in newspapers. They’re just bluffing and they’re not really serious.’
She also echoed the idea that even if the DPWH gets abolished, public officials will still find a way to get ahold of government funds.
‘If the DPWH is abolished, for sure they will have a system again, so that they can get funds again, these congressmen, these senators. So that they have a source of their own funds and so that they can engage in corrupt acts again,’ Maza, speaking in Filipino, told the Inquirer.
Gatchalian previously floated the idea of abolishing the DPWH, due to its officials being involved in the alleged anomalous flood-control mess and widespread corruption.
However, on Monday Malacañang said that this suggestion is not being considered and there are ‘no plans’ to abolish the agency, citing that ‘not all administrators or government employees in the DPWH can be said to have made mistakes.’ /jpv