President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday lashed out against public works officials involved in “ghost projects,” which he said was a racket among erring executives.
“Ang DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) ang pinaka-racket diyan is ‘yung ghost project. So walang delivery, ghost project. Marami ‘yan. Karamihan it’s the regional director. Ipapalabas nila na may project ito but wala,” he said in a late-night address.
“So the best way is to conduct an audit of those projects to determine if they are ghost projects or not, and I think they are plenty,” he added.
Earlier, Duterte ordered the creation of a task force to investigate irregularities within the Department of Public Works and Highways. He had also ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to probe the entire government for alleged corruption as part of his administration’s campaign against corruption.
“And I dare say that ang pinakamarami sigurong matanggal would be from DPWH. I really intend to clean government. At least kung hindi ko kaya, mamenos-menosan ang kurakot sa gobyerno. Iyan na lang ang consuelo ng tao na mahuli at mapreso,” he said.
“Tapos ‘yung sa itong mga — karamihan ghost projects. Iyan ang ano diyan. Iyong iba naman kagaya ng public works na nakita ninyo iyong kubeta na walang cover na puro nakahilera lang ‘yung — ‘yung bowl, inidoro. Walang division, wala lahat. Iyon ‘yung mga p****g inang klaseng trabaho,” he added.
Duterte said officials involved in these projects should vacate their posts immediately.
“I advise you to resign now. Resign now kasi pagdating ng panahon, I will throw the book at you, even the kitchen sink, at saka makita ninyo you will be prosecuted administratively and criminally at walang patawaran dito. John Ezekiel J. Hirro