NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 28 September) — During the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the anomaly of the flood control projects, Senator Bato dela Rosa tried to clear colleague Senator Joel Villanueva of corruption involvement. He would, accordingly, resign if proven that Villanueva is involved in corruption.
Here’s a brief backgrounder of the hullabaloo.
Bulacan first district engineer Henry Alcantara testified that Senator Villanueva wanted the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPHW) to fund a P1.5 billion multipurpose building. Alcantara and DPWH Undersecretary Bernardo conferred and agreed to give “tulong” (help) to the senator with a P600 million from the flood control fund. Why Villanueva’s multipurpose building transformed into flood control projects is not explained. We can only speculate. It is difficult to justify the funding of such a very expensive building, which is irrelevant to the needs of the flood-ravaged and drowning province of Bulacan.
Accordingly, Alcantara caused the delivery of P150 million, a 25 percent commission, to Villanueva’s intermediary, a man identified only as “Peng,” at a resthouse in Bocaue, Bulacan.
So per DPWH language, P600 million worth of flood control projects in the 2022 agency’s budget is in the name of Senator Villanueva as sponsor. Once the amount is already downloaded to DPWH, the sponsor gets 20 to 30 percent of the budgeted amount. This is the kind of kalakalan or business that pushes Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada into the quagmire. Villanueva, as mentioned above, pocketed, P150 million from the said kalakalan. This is where Villanueva has fallen, which Senator Bato, who is lawyering for him, is not possibly fully aware of.
Bato’s defense was disastrous, which pushes Villanueva deeper into the muck. After interrogating Alcantara, he concluded more or less saying: Tumangap ng tulong (kickback) si Senator Villanueva, kasi hindi niya alam na galing yon sa flood control projects. Kung alam pa nya na galing sa flood control, hindi niya yon tanggapin kasi galit na galit sya sa flood control.
By saying so, Bato affirmed that Villanueva, indeed, received kickback as alleged by Alcantara and Hernandez.
Anyway, it’s water under the bridge. The criminal case against the two beleaguered senators has been built up, and they will be criminally charged anytime soon.
As for Bato, the entire nation is waiting for his resignation, because he himself has proven that Villanueva is corrupt.
Bato ought to resign now so that he would already be a private citizen, not anymore a senator, when Interpol arrests and ships him to the ICC (International Criminal Court) as a co-perpetrator of FPRRD (Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) in committing crimes against humanity. This spares the nation from the stigma of another of its top officials hauled again to The Hague. (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.)