DPWH ‘moves on’

“Relieved” is how Public Works  Secretary Rogelio “Babes” Singson described his feelings when asked about the Supreme Court ruling declaring the PDAF or Priority Development Assistance Fund—in plainspeak the pork barrel—unconstitutional.

“The way it was implemented in the past,” recalled Singson at Tuesday’s “Bulong Pulungan sa Sofitel” media forum, “one congressman could spread his allocation to so many contractors,” at times even allocating one infrastructure project per barangay. Unless there was collusion between the local public works office and the legislator, and under the new rules of the Department of Public Works and Highways, each project required the same amount of auditing and oversight by the DPWH, he added. “Abala talaga sa amin (it was such a bother for us).”

Now, he said, without the power to “prioritize” projects in their districts (and even choose their favorite contractors), members of Congress (including senators) are left to identify local projects which are included in the “line item” budget, meaning they are incorporated into the general DPWH budget and no longer subject to “refinement” by the legislator, contractor, or their friends in the local DPWH.

Before, Singson said, most public works projects included an “SOP” or standard operating procedure, referring to an amount (usually 6 percent of the total cost) set aside for the losing bidders and for the local bids and awards committees. So common was the practice, he noted, that some contractors were only contractors on paper, subsisting on their share of the SOP, with nothing but paper work and saliva as their capital.

By tightening procedures and oversight, Singson said, the DPWH has been able to reduce the cost of public works projects, usually bloated by graft, by P19 billion, for which the department was cited by P-Noy.

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But the department continues to be hounded by controversy, the latest of which involves allegedly “overpriced” and “substandard” bunkhouses for the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

After a disaster—and certainly Yolanda was a major disaster by any measure—three types of shelter are provided for the survivors, Singson said. The first type is “emergency shelters,” include tents or tarpaulin covers, or evacuation to a temporary center. The United Nations, through its many international partner-agencies, has agreed to take charge of “emergency shelters” for the Yolanda survivors.

The DPWH then took charge of building “temporary shelters,” meaning more durable structures where families can stay while waiting for “permanent shelters” to be built. The permanent shelters will be under the purview of the National Housing Authority.

The temporary shelters are the aforementioned bunkhouses, and the plan was, said Singson, for the DPWH to oversee the construction of 222 bunkhouses in time for Christmas “because we know that it is usually rainy season in Leyte and Samar at this time of the year.”

But there were problems from the get-go, he said. For one thing, it was difficult for contractors to hire carpenters or construction workers locally because the men in the area could earn more by simply lining up before welfare groups who were handing out money to survivors. “Whereas we were offering only minimum wage to workers.”

As a consequence, many contractors resorted to bringing in workers from other provinces, a solution which brought with it other problems, such as the need for shelter for them.

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As for charges that the bunkhouses are “substandard,” or built using substandard materials, Singson says the problem lies in the “market.” Over the years, makers of GI sheets, plywood, iron bars and even nails have been turning out construction materials that are below international standards, Singson said, an observation that many business people and contractors share.

“The materials we specified, of sufficient quality and quantity, were no longer available in the disaster-hit areas,” Singson observed.

As for violating “UN standards” in postdisaster construction, Singson said, “There are so many voices speaking for the UN” even if they deal “with just the UN resident representative.” And this representative, he added, has expressed her surprise that the government was able to start work on temporary housing this early, when in other disaster sites, temporary shelters were put up only six months later. Besides, the UN agencies or contractors were able to share their “standards” with the DPWH only after the bunkhouses were put up.

As for accusations that the bunkhouses are “too small” for extended families, Singson put on an exasperated expression and said, “That’s no problem, we can just knock down a wall and make the space bigger.” Then again, a bigger space would mean several generations and extended relations moving into one home, which increases the odds of domestic abuse and sexual exploitation. “Then there were suggestions that we separate the women and children from the men,” said Singson. “So what do they want us to do? Do we put up again the walls we knocked down?”

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As every leader and do-gooder knows, there is no pleasing everybody. One observer, critic or complainer would always have something negative to say, even if the intent behind a project is fueled by good intentions.

“Moving forward” was the theme of Singson’s appearance before the media forum, and as he indicated, at the DPWH, an oft-maligned agency in the past, moving on means doing more, building more, and working harder—even as contrary voices form a continuing chorus of criticism.