MANILA (Bloomberg): Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Vince Dizon to head the Department of Public Works and Highways, replacing Manuel Bonoan who quit amid controversies over flood-control projects.
Dizon, whom Marcos assigned to head the transportation department in February, is now tasked "to conduct a full organizational sweep” of the public works department and ensure that public funds are used solely for infrastructure,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement on Sunday.
Bonoan’s resignation has been accepted by the president and will take effect Sept. 1, it said.
The Transport Department will be helmed by Giovanni Lopez as acting secretary. Lopez was undersecretary for administration, finance, and procurement.
Marcos has also established an Independent Commission to Investigate Flood Control Anomalies, the statement said. "This body will conduct a comprehensive review of projects, identify irregularities, and recommend accountability measures to ensure public trust in infrastructure spending,” it said.
Reports of billions of pesos worth of flood-control projects that were awarded but never materialized have fueled public outrage in a country that periodically suffers from widespread flooding during typhoon season.
In his state of the nation address last month, Marcos said the government found many shortfalls in public works, including failed or "imaginary” flood-control projects, adding that "many of these are rackets, sources of kickbacks.”
He has since published a list of 15 builders that cornered a fifth of flood control projects nationwide.
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