I KNOW personally Rogelio "Babes" Singson, former secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways ((DPWH). I met him first time when he was president of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and was appointed in concurrent capacity as president of Clark Development Corporation (CDC). That was in mid-nineties, if I am not mistaken. I had some occasions in interviewing him for I was already writing articles then for SunStar. Later when I was named director of CDC in January 2001 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Babes was still with BCDA and CDC.
I remember one board meeting held then at the BCDA headquarters in Villamor Air Base in Pasay City and there were so many items on the agenda and the discussions took us past eight in the evening. Mina Paras who was also a member of the board and was seated beside me was complaining to Babes for not even ordering meals for the members and staff. What I know Babes ordered food at the cafeteria and paid it from his own money. He could have ordered meals from those nearby restaurants or hotels and just signed the chit and charged to BCDA. He didn't.
So it came as a surprise to me that Babes together with former Budget Secretary Butch Abad are being investigated for their alleged participation in P8.7 billion right of way scam in General Santos City. I can't believe Babes participation. I don't know about Florencio aka Butch.
Do you still remember the Development Acceleration Fund, otherwise known as PDAF or commonly known as pork barrel? Of course everyone remember when then President BS Aquino ordered Abad to release through DBM billions of pesos as the House of Representatives then was in the thick of discussions in the impeachment proceedings against the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona. And the senate was preparing to constitute itself as a court for the impeachment trial. There were billions of funds released and reportedly given to several members of both houses. When Abad was asked by media of the releases, he said those were intended to prime the economy. And why then, Malacanang gave it to favored senators and congressmen, asked the reporters. On my own column in this paper I remember saying, I am no economist, and no economics 101 tucked in my report card, but if you want to prime up business activity there is no better way than by upgrading the roads and the rail system in the country in order that people and goods move cheaper and faster.
During my stint as a member of the board of directors of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), we proposed connector roads that will connect Makati to Taguig and to the airport terminals in the Pasay and Paranaque areas. The proposed commuter train from Divisoria to Clark Freeport was ignored. The upgrade of the railway up to the Bicol area wasn't a high priority. Also on the drawing board were high speed rails that will connect Metro Manila central business districts. These proposals languished due to lack of funds. During Aquino's presidency the country was beset so many problems. The poverty alleviation program never took off. The reconstruction of the life and properties of the Typhoon Yolanda victims wasn’t given serious attention. But funds and savings were channelled instead to advance political agenda. How sad!
It’s the people’s hope that the "Build, Build, Build" program of this administration will be realized. And it is also with great expectation that the ant-corruption drive is not a mere lip service. As alleged by Senator Panfilo Lacson pork barrel funds are still big lump sum in the 2018 executive budget. Let’s challenge President Digong to order Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to put a halt to the practice.