File photo of trade and Industry secretary Cristina Roque from the Philippine News Agency.
Despite having resigned from their posts, officials of the Construction Industry Association of the Philippines (CIAP) and the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) will still be part of the ongoing investigation on the anomalous government infrastructure projects that has unearthed billions of pesos wasted in irregularities on public funds spending.
In an interview by the media at the sidelines of the Malikhaing Pinoy Expo at SM Aura in Taguig City, trade and industry secretary Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque issued the clarification just a day after Atty. Herbert Matienzo resigned as CIAP acting executive director.
“He also put there (in his resignation letter) that he will cooperate naman. So he will be covered by the probe,” Aldeguer-Roque told journalists in the news briefing as she noted that two PCAB board members, namely engineers Arthur Escalante and Erni Baggao, have also relinquished their positions, which both feigned for “personal reasons.”
The resignations came as President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. ordered for a deeper probe into the anomalies on Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)’s infrastructure projects, particularly those implemented for flood control mitigation.
The trade chief announced that they have already identified officials who will take charge of the vacated posts but declined to give specifics pending the finalization of the required legal documents and their formal appointment.
President Marcos Jr. had identified at least 15 construction firms that have cornered the majority of the government’s flood control projects nationwide and Aldeguer-Roque asserted they have decided to conduct their own investigation of the controversy.
Prior to this, she had placed both the PCAB and the CIAP under her direct supervision, stressing that the move was “to restore integrity and transparency through a major revamp” in both agencies.
“Placing them under my direct supervision will ensure that order, transparency and accountability (are) restored within these agencies,” she pointed out in conclusion.