MANILA, Philippines -- As the so-called "ber" months bring in cooler days, Mamamayang Liberal (ML) partylist Rep. Leila De Lima could not help but point out that many Filipinos might have felt a different kind of "chill," brought by the discovery that anomalies in flood-control projects began as far as 2016 -- the year former President Rodrigo Duterte took office.
De Lima's short statement was posted on Monday night, along with a "ber" months meme tied to Filipino singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan, popularly dubbed the "King of Philippine Christmas Carols."
"Hello to those who are cold, not because it's the ber months, but because they found out that the anomalous flood control project started in 2016," de Lima wrote.
The lawmaker's post followed a Senate hearing in which controversial contractor Sarah Discaya revealed that she began bidding for flood control projects with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in 2016.
"2016 onwards," Discaya told one of Duterte's allies, Sen. Bato Dela Rosa, during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on flood control projects.
Discaya is the president of the Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor and Development Corp, one of the 15 out of 2,409 accredited contractors named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
On August 11, Marcos revealed that P100 billion, or 18 percent of the entire P545-billion budget for flood mitigation projects undertaken by his administration from July 2022 to May 2025, was awarded to these 15 contractors.
According to the contractor, her company bid for 91 projects in 2022 and won 71. She also admitted that her family owns nine companies.
Based on reports, Discaya declared that her companies flourished after joining the bidding for DPWH flood control projects.
In several interviews, Discaya even displayed her family's luxury cars with high-end brands such as Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, Bentley, Cadillac Escalade, Range Rover, GMC, Suburban and G63, among others. /apl