NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 12 Aug) — During his fourth SONA, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. was furious about the state of corruption in government service, but was aiming his lashes specifically at those responsible for the various flood control projects of the government. He decried in anguish:
“Mga kickback, mga initiative, errata, SOP, for the boys… sa mga nakikipagsabwatan upang kunin ang pondo ng bayan at nakawin ang kinabukasan ng ating mga mamamayan, mahiya naman kayo sa inyong kapwa Pilipino!”
Intended or not, it came, nonetheless, like a “pasaring,” a pointed dig to the man who was seated on the rostrum behind him, Senate President Chiz Escudero, who, accordingly, had secured the biggest funding appropriations for flood control projects worth several billions of pesos for his home province, Sorsogon, during the period under presidential scrutiny.
The lucky beneficiary of Escudero’s budget haul is Lawrence R. Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., a smart investor who contributed a staggering ₱30 million to Escudero’s campaign kitty in his comeback run to the Senate in 2022.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his recent State of the Nation Address, publicly named the top 15 flood control contractors cornering one-fifth of all nationwide projects—₱100 billion in total. Centerways ranked 7th.
Accordingly, 6021 projects worth over ₱350 billion were found with no details on what type of flood control structure was being built—whether dikes, drainage systems, pumping stations, or other works, and whether or not they are working or effective in any way. They could be mere paperwork and do not exist at all.
From 2021 – 2024, Centerways Construction secured ₱5.16 billion worth of flood control projects. In 2021, the Sorsogon-based construction firm had only five such projects in the million-class category. But in 2022—the year Escudero reclaimed a Senate seat—those contracts ballooned like magic to 44, a nearly ninefold jump.
It is payback time, and everybody is happy. But an investigation is imperative for the miraculous development.
Of the 54 flood control projects in Sorsogon, 36 are in the first district, Escudero’s long-time political turf. Since 1987, it has been ruled in turns by Chiz, his father Salvador, his mother Evelina, and his sister Maria Bernadette. Before Chiz returned to the Senate in 2022, he served as governor of Sorsogon from 2019 to 2022.
Now it’s the chief magistrate of the Senate Impeachment Court’s turn in the hot seat.
Because a senator is not an impeachable official, it is now for the Senate to investigate and try him, possibly for corruption and betrayal of public trust, following the US procedure of discipline and penalty. If found guilty, he could be expelled and disqualified from holding any public office.
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental.)
