‘Lahat sila korap…they are just so comfortable doing it. Nakakainsulto’ – Magalong describing the ‘cottage industry’ of corruption

Baguio City, Philippines – Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong already expected to find irregularities when he started looking into corruption cases as special adviser to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) but he did not expect how deep, organized, and normalized it had become, sharing his findings during a joint hearing of the Senate Committees on Science and Technology and Finance on Thursday, October 2.

Presided by Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, the session focused on Senate Bill 1330 or the proposed Philippine National Budget Blockchain Act, which seeks to promote transparency and accountability by making national budget available to the public through blockchain technology.

The hearing provided Magalong a platform to disclose his observations and present his insights in launching blockchain initiative in the city government of Baguio.

The ‘cottage industry’ and the players

Magalong described the collusion of politicians, bureaucrats and contractors as “cottage industry - a livelihood program,” a network that turned public funds to personal profit.

“One thing that I found out, there are actually only three players, main players: mga korap na politico; yung mga korap na mga bureaucrats, and we’re talking about infra, ibig sabihin mga korap na DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) officials; at yung mga korap din na mga contractors,” he said.

“Lahat sila korap diyan,” stressed the mayor.

Magalong went on to explain that there should be five major players on infrastructure projects, namely the funder or lawmakers, the DPWH, the contractors, the local government, and the community. However, the local governments and community are often left out from the process.

The depth of corruption, according to the Mayor, is ‘really overwhelming’ and with thousands of cases, even two-year period is not enough to investigate.

In one province alone, he noted that they found around 50 ghost projects, with thousands of undocumented projects.

“At ang isang mga nakikita namin doon is, why is it na ang lumalabas sa net for a particular district, 1 point something million lang ang hinihingi mo. I had the records. Or 2.5 lang sa President's Budget. Then suddenly, pagkalabas doon sa GAA (General Appropriations Act), bakit umabot na ng mga 21 billion? And nalaman, nakita namin na talagang prevalent yung… mga ghost and substandard projects sa lugar na yun,” he further expounded.

“So what was the intention? Hindi naman tayo tanga. Ang nangyayari dito, lumalabas na tanga ang Pilipino. Kaya pabayaan mo na lang sila. Hindi na nila mapapansin yan. Nakakainsulto isipin. Nakakainsulto,” Magalong added.

Blockchain technology for transparent governance

In his presentation, Magalong highlighted that every Filipino deserves systems that are not only efficient but inherently trustworthy, and that trust, the cornerstone of every institution, ‘must be built on systems.’

For the City of Baguio, he said, it has made deliberate steps to use digital tools to strengthen its governance and enhance public trust. As part of said advocacy, the city government is set to go live with its blockchain-based transparency platform come October 15.

The move ensures that the infrastructure documents, procurement records, and the city’s ordinance are digitally recorded tamper-proofed for ‘permanent traceability and auditability.’ With the blockchain, the public can easily access records and manipulation of documents will be prevented.

“So lahat, as long as it does not violate the Data Privacy Act, we’re going to open it,” he said.

The initiative is in line with Baguio City’s participation in Open Government Partnership (OPG), a global network promoting transparency, accountability, and strong citizen’s participation. Magalong proudly expressed that Baguio is one of only four local government units in the country that are part of the network.

‘Are you willing to open your data?’

Senator Aquino asked how long it took Baguio to go live for blockchain, and Magalong said it took them almost one month.

“Kasi yung titingnan mo from a very layman's perspective, madali lang ho lahat eh. Ang pinakamahirap po is yung mindset na are you willing to open your... to be transparent, to be open. To open your data, all these critical information: program of work, bill of quantities, contract, yung bidding documents, bid documents, yung mga critical na mga designs… technical plans,” challenged the mayor.

“Are you willing to open it up? Us in the city of Baguio, we're very much willing,” Magalong declared.