CITY OF MALOLOS — Bulacan officials, led by Gov. Daniel Fernando, have  challenged the complainant, who claimed to be Francisco Balagtas, to come out in the open on the alleged anomalous river dredging project in the province.

During a press briefing on the Bulacan River restoration dubbed ” Let the people know the truth,” on Friday afternoon (May 10) the governor said the complainant’s allegations “coming out in messengers, social media and some broadsheets are false, twisted half-truths and certainly a misinformation and political demolition campaign.”

A news report said “A corruption scandal erupted in Bulacan province after a graft suit was filed against Bulacan Gov.  Daniel  Fernando, Vice Gov. Alex Castro, other officials, and a private contractor before the Ombudsman over the P500 million Bulacan Flood Control and River Restoration Project.

The whistleblower was identified in the report  as Francisco Balagtas who filed a complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman on May 6, 2024 that was dated May 1, 2024.

The governor challenged the complainant to come out in the open and exposed his true identity and those who ordered him to file the complaint.

Fernando said the complainant claimed that there was no public procurement process. However, the governor explained that the project is not covered under Republic Act 9184 and cited that under “DENR DAO No. 2020-07, Section 5 which states: No funding from the government shall  be made for the conduct of dredging activities by the private sector. Holders of dredging clearance shall provide the financing, technology, management and personnel necessary to implement dredging activities within the exclusive river dredging zone.”

To settle the issue once and for all, Fernando said that in 2020 they adhere to the DENR Administrative Order No. 2020-07 and signed Executive Order No. 07 Series of 2021 that led to the creation of an inter-agency committee that aims to “palalimin ang priority dredging zones sa ating lalawigan.”

He said this is a program of the national government and after almost three years of comprehensive planning, “handa na tayong isakatuparan ang pinakamalaking hakbang upang wakasan ang deka-dekadang pagbaha sa ating lalawigan.”

He pointed out that the TCSC Corporation has been issued dredging clearance by the Department of Public Works and Highways and not by the governor while the environment clearance certificate was issued to the same company by the DENR EMB to dredge Bulacan’s offshore delta and the five priority rivers in Bulacan that include Angat, Pamarawan, Malolos, Hagonoy and Guiguinto Rivers.

📷 Mon Lazaro