Skip to main content

DPWH personnel alleges ‘fixing’ rampant in ‘high places’

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya - A workshop on Anti Red Tape Act recently conducted in the region by personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) central office, has generated mixed reactions from participants who alleged that most of the incidents of so-called ‘fixing and fixers in government’ are rampant in Manila.

The workshop which was attended by participants from the region’s various district offices was aimed to enhance the services of the works agency’s front-liners and to put a stop to the practice of paper works fixing, wherein some DPWH personnel are reportedly being paid by some of the agency’s clients or contractors to prioritize the facilitation of their documents.

The extra legal procedure gives the said favored client undue advantage over those who follow the normal procedure in processing their documents. It also promotes corruption within the government.

While personnel from the district office of the DPWH here claimed that the workshop in itself was laudable since it will further improve their services and community relations, some participants from other areas in the region also alleged that ‘fixing’ in the provincial offices occur when some officials from ‘high places’ ‘flex their muscles’ to expedite the papers of favored clients.

A workshop participant from the DPWH office here who asked not to be named disclosed that other participants commented that the alleged corrupt practice of ‘fixing’ within the agency’s provincial offices will continue as long as some high-level officials themselves condone it.

“I am not sure in other areas in the region but here in the province, I am not aware of anybody who is a regular ‘fixer’, if ever there is, malamang galing lang yung utos sa itaas at maaaring takot naman ang ilang tao dito na ‘wag sundin ang request, ”he said.

The DPWH’s Anti Red Tape Workshop held in Cagayan is in compliance with President Arroyo’s Administrative Order (AO) 241 ordering government departments and bureaus to streamline and post the procedures for the government’s most heavily utilized process or services.

The AO also instructed government agencies to put a stop on the so-called fixing in the workplace and to file appropriate charges to any body found guilty of such.

An article from the DPWH news site quoted works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane that his office is now in coordination with the Office of the Ombudsman on the series of information campaigns and the implementation of the Rules and Regulations of the Anti-Red tape Act of 2007.

“We are continuously promoting transparency in all our operations by developing our clientele feedback, “he said, referring to the agency’s mobile phone complaints and inquiry system through Txt 2920 and telephone hotline.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NFRDI completes assessment of Buguey lagoon

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan – Apprehensions over the protection of fishery and other natural resources, relative to the planned dredging of the Buguey Lagoon, can be put to rest after government agencies led by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute has outlined a number of points to consider in order to forestall any negative effect of such activity . The lagoon, situated at Buguey town some 140 kilometers north of this capital city, is a center of fishery activities particularly seaweeds (Gracilaria) and oyster production, fry and crablets gathering, and fish cage operations. However, the area has been under threat recently due to heavy siltation and constriction resulting to poor water exchange. “The freshwater from the western end and saline water from the sea can not flow freely due to heavy siltation particularly at the portion near the main bridge which affects water quality and fishery operations in the lagoon,” Venchito Villarao, Coastal Resource Management spe...

Isabela town gets national prominence from mungbean

SAN MATEO, Isabela—This region’s topmost major rice-producing province has recently gained national prominence among the country’s local government units with its production of mungbean, dubbed here as "black gold." This is especially true in this formerly obscure town, whose administration has been recently recognized by the prestigious Galing Pook Award for initiating years of painstaking research in the development of the said leguminous crop, known as munggo or balatong in the vernacular, which is now a major protein source. Last week, this town’s "black gold," now a leading summer crop here, has been instrumental in the town’s being bestowed the most-sought-after local government honor by no less that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a ceremony in Malacañang. Sponsored by Ford Foundation, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Local Government Academy and the Galing Pook Foundation, the Galing Pook Awards this year had 141 entries, with 19 landing as fi...

DIDIPIO GOLD PROJECT STANDOFF CONTINUES

NV gov tells Atienza: ‘I’m in control of my senses’ By CHARLIE C. LAGASCA BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – “I am not senseless with what I am doing.” This is what an obviously irate Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma said yesterday (10 May) in answer to statements of Environment Secretary Lito Atienza telling her to “come to her senses” and not to persist in moves to stop a foreign mining firm from operating here. Meanwhile, the talks between the provincial government and environment officials led by Mines and Geosciences Bureau national director Horacio Ramos have failed, as the provincial government refused to withdraw its cease and desist order until Australian firm Oceana Gold Philippines settles its quarrying fees due this province. The national government contracted Oceana Gold for the multibillion Didipio Gold-Copper Project in Kasibu town here, which is Cagayan Valley’s first large-scale mining venture, and so far one of the two projects approved by the government since the enactment of the ...