Secretary's Corner
HON.
VICTOR A. DOMINGO
Secretary Victor A.
Domingo’s Turn-Over Speech
October 26, 2009
Sec. Ebdane,
Undersecretaries Pacanan, Yabut, Bonoan, Assistant Secretaries and
other Officials and Employees of DPWH, my friends and relatives who
are here, Good Morning.
Firstly, I would
like to thank all my friends who are here today to witness this
turnover. I hope they have not come here to ask favors from me, but
to give me the courage, the wisdom and the moral support that I will
succeed in this huge task ahead of me.
Our country is not
only a victim of global economic crisis, but worse, a victim of
severe natural calamities as typhoons of unprecedented proportions.
I have to look back
into 68 years of my life and search for a typhoon in the past that
zigzagged its way into the country and got out, but decided to
comeback and stay for quite a while.
I don’t know why I
am foolish enough to accept this job when I know very well that the
typhoon damage has totalled P6 Billion on all properties, private
and public. As for the roads and bridges, the latest estimate given
to me by the Department’s senior staff is P4.3 Billion.
I was shocked to
learn that we have no money to rehabilitate this much damage. And I
was also shocked to learn that, although the DPWH has P6 B budget
for road maintenance, not a peso has been released, the irony is
that, although not a peso of the P6 B has been released, only P3 B
is available for further maintenance and perhaps for rehabilitation
work.
Already, P3 B has
been expended by the Department in the implementation of roads and
bridges projects, but of course this was financed by credits granted
by suppliers and contractors to our Department.
So this is the
enormity of my task: so huge is the rehabilitation work but
practically no resources, we have to wait for grants from foreign
countries. We have to wait for our government to firm up borrowing
from the international financing community. But that is not
acceptable. We cannot wait forever as the needs demand immediate
rehabilitation.
In light of all of
this, may therefore, make an urgent appeal to the DBM to release in
full the P6 B budget for maintenance, so that the remaining balance,
after paying our creditors, can be used for immediate rehab work.
May I also appeal
to our beloved and patriotic Congressmen and Senators to realign
their CDF even if only 25% of it, so that this re-align funds will
be used in disaster-stricken areas. If only 25% of CDF is
re-aligned, we will be able to raise P4.2 B from 240 Congressmen.
Likewise, we will be able to raise P1.2 B from the CDF of Senators
or a total of P5.4 B, more than enough to cover the P4.5 B damages
to roads, bridges, and irrigation facilities.
Lastly, may touch
on a sensitive subject matter, the subject matter of an editorial of
the Philippine Daily Inquirer the other day, about Graft and
Corruption.
My challenge to all
DPWH officers and employees is that there is truth to the
editorial. Year in and year out, as long as I can remember, the DPWH
has been in the company of the BIR, CUSTOMS DEPED which are
perceived to be corrupt agencies.
You remind me of
some friends in my college days at up who overstayed. They were
supposed to finish their courses in 4 years but it took them 10
years to do that, don’t you think DPWH should graduate from the
category of a corrupt agency as perceived by the people?
But I still believe
the majority of you are honest, hardworking and knowledgeable. A
proof of this is how our field men performed 24 hours a day at the
height of typhoon Ondoy and Peping. For this, you deserve to be
commended.
So I hope DPWH can
graduate from the corrupt category that it has been perceived to be.
I know that, with the recent salary increases, and if only we listen
to our conscience, we would be able to graduate from that category…
with flying colors.
With oneness in our
hearts & minds, let us do our job together and make the DPWH a proud
institution.
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