Good contractors, bad contractors
In the words of no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself, there are good contractors—and there are bad contractors.
The distinction is not difficult to understand. Good contractors are those who have carried out their contracts with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) faithfully and competently.
They delivered projects that exist, that meet specifications, and that serve the public as intended. These contractors, the President stressed, must now be paid the remaining balances of their contracts so they can regain financial footing and continue participating in government biddings.
They deserve that much. Delayed payments do not only punish businesses that played by the rules; they also discourage honest participation in public infrastructure projects.
On the other hand, there are bad contractors—those who conspired with corrupt DPWH officials and even lawmakers to carry out ghost projects or deliver substandard work, particularly in flood control projects that were supposed to protect communities but instead became symbols of corruption.
For these contractors, payment must remain withheld. More importantly, they should be slapped with appropriate criminal cases, including plunder, an offense that is non-bailable. Only through firm accountability can the government send a clear message that corruption will not be tolerated, no matter how influential the personalities involved may be.
Truth be told, there are contractors who have yet to collect payment for projects that were already completed.
Unfortunately, they are caught in the middle of an ongoing investigation into ghost and substandard flood control projects. Because of this probe, many DPWH officials have already been charged and are now under detention.
The process, while necessary, has understandably slowed down the release of legitimate payments Still, justice must be precise. Innocent contractors should not be punished alongside the guilty.
As for the bad contractors, withholding payment is not enough. They must be permanently banned from future government public works projects. Allowing them to continue bidding would only invite further losses of public funds and repeat the same cycle of corruption that has long plagued the system.
Do we have bad contractors in Dagupan City and Pangasinan? Only the DPWH and the courts can definitively answer that question.#