BACOLOD City Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to protect Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, employees, and others with key information under the whistleblower program if they are willing to testify against the alleged massive corruption.
Benitez, in a statement released on Monday, August 25, 2025, said the DOJ must not wait for witnesses to step forward if it wants to try, convict, and imprison all those who have plundered public funds intended to protect the people from flooding.
“Thus, I urge the DOJ to seek out and protect, under the mantle of the whistleblower program, those officials and employees of the DPWH, along with other persons with key information, who wish to stand as witnesses against the massive corrupt conspiracy at work,” he said.
He added that it is a chance to reveal the truth and that it is the responsibility of the government to provide witnesses with a platform and adequate protection in order to uphold it.
The lawmaker noted that the fight to bring to justice those who endanger the lives of the people will be long and difficult.
“But it is something that we cannot set aside if we wish to change things for the better—to have public infrastructure that takes no shortcuts and does not jeopardize life and safety, to have government processes that are free from corrupt practices, and to put fear in the hearts of those who would corrupt the system for material gain,” Benitez said.
Benitez earlier called on DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to resign amid the flood control project controversy.
This came after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. inspected the Bulacan flood control project and revealed that a project marked as completed by the DPWH had yet to be constructed.
Benitez said the principle of command responsibility demands that the secretary step down.
"If something as basic as this has been overlooked, who knows how many more critical projects are in a similar state," Benitez said.
Marcos earlier announced that 20 percent of the total budget, or roughly P100 billion, for flood control projects went to only 15 contractors. (MAP)