The group called on the Filipino people to continue expressing their sentiments and unleashing people power against corrupt contractors, politicians, and government officials.
A newly constructed section of a road-widening project in Barangay Kirang, Aritao collapsed early Friday morning, sending a tomato-loaded jeepney crashing into a ravine and leaving at least two people injured.
For the past 20 years, across four presidential terms, the same contractors have been awarded the largest public works contracts. Whether the president is a Marcos, a Duterte, an Aquino or an Arroyo, many politically well-connected firms have outbidded all others, cornering a disproportionate chunk of the lucrative public works projects funded from the people’s taxes.
Without the collapsed bridge as a passage, residents have been forced to an overflow steel bridge, but which becomes impassable, too, whenever the river swells after a heavy downpour.
The government’s move to retire its last coal plant is expected to send a strong signal to private coal plant owners that the reign of fossil fuels is ending. Following the buyout of a huge power conglomerate, officials are stalling on plans to shut down STEAG Mindanao Coal in Misamis Oriental, citing supply-security arguments that climate change activists insist have no basis in science.
The Sta. Maria–Cabagan Bridge, which collapsed earlier this year just weeks after its inauguration, has been reopened to pedestrians, allowing local folk to cross the Cagayan River.
“Tama na, sobra na!” the cooperative said, calling Woggle’s expansion “corporate greed and favoritism.”
Instead of consolidating these into a single project, the contracts were split up, which critics say inflates administrative costs and weakens accountability.
Flood-control projects fund extravagant lifestyles. It pays to be the House appropriations committee chair. Many lawmakers own or are linked to contracting firms. Bad contractors can get good contracts. And flood-prone areas in Mindanao got the least number and amount of projects.
The Sangguniang Bayan reaffirmed its guiding principle of “public service above self” and vowed to continue defending the interests of the people of Dupax del Norte.
