DPWH confirms to Hontiveros: Taxpayers shouldn’t pay twice for failed, substandard flood control projects

DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral. (File Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

By Office of Senator Risa Hontiveros

Officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways have confirmed to Senator Risa Hontiveros that taxpayers should not pay twice for failed or substandard flood control projects, and that contractors should instead shoulder these costs.

During the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe on anomalous flood control projects, Hontiveros quizzed DPWH officials on existing policies covering warranties on substandard or failed projects, saying that the burden of fixing these projects shouldn’t be placed on taxpayers.

“Gusto ko lang pong i-remind lahat at ang department, na hindi dapat taongbayan ang gumastos ng doble kapag palpak yung flood control project,” Hontiveros said.

In response, DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral said that current rules impose various periods for warranty on infrastructure projects, wherein any defect or irregularity that may be observed “should be corrected by the contractors, at no cost to government.” If corrections are not timely made, she said, erring contractors will not be allowed to claim final billing, and retention money will not be released to them, among other penalties.

Cabral then mentioned to Hontiveros that flood control projects, which are considered semi-permanent structures, have a warranty period of five years, while permanent structures like bridges have a warranty period of 15 years.

“So within the five years, kapag po nasira o nakitang substandard or ghost, it should not take five years to see or unsee a ghost project na flood control,” Hontiveros stressed.

Cabral also said that the DPWH will support Hontiveros’s proposed “1-strike” or “0 tolerance” policy for contractors involved in fraudulent or glaringly substandard flood control projects or other vital infrastructure projects.

Likewise, the DPWH official positively responded to Hontiveros’s proposed “Doble gastos, doble danyos” (double expense, double penalty) policy, in which contractors responsible for ghost or substandard projects will be required to pay twice for construction and repair costs.

Hontiveros later said that she will follow up on DPWH’s pronouncements, so that contractors responsible for anomalies will not escape accountability.