House Assistant Majority Leader and Las Piñas Representative Mark Anthony Santos has urged Senator Mark Villar to clarify why the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) dropped the Integrity Pledge, a critical anti-corruption measure in government bidding, during his term as Public Works Secretary under the Duterte administration.
Santos explained that the Integrity Pledge was institutionalized in 2013 by then–DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson through Department Order 86, series of 2013, as a tool to curb corruption and collusion in public procurement.
“Under Secretary Villar’s leadership, the Integrity Pledge was no longer enforced as a mandatory requirement. To this day, there is no clear public document explaining why it was removed or allowed to lapse. By stripping away this safeguard, the bidding system fell back to the bare minimum protections of the procurement law,” Santos said.
The lawmaker raised concerns that the pledge’s removal might have opened the door to anomalies, especially amid the ongoing investigations into alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
“Didn’t the absence of this safeguard make it easier for corruption to thrive?” Santos asked.
Under Department Order 86, the Integrity Pledge was required from all contractors listed in the DPWH Registry of Contractors and those participating in bidding for infrastructure projects. The pledge committed contractors to reject corruption and red tape, maintain ethical standards, avoid collusion and bid-rigging in compliance with RA 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) and RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), and ensure transparency in their financial records and dealings.
Santos likened the policy to safety measures in a system prone to abuse:
“The Integrity Pledge was the seatbelt and CCTV of the bidding process. While procurement laws were already in place, the Pledge served as an added moral and reputational safeguard to deter collusion.”
Singson, who introduced the policy, currently sits as one of the three members of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI)—the body now probing alleged anomalies in government flood control projects.
Villar, who served as DPWH Secretary from July 2016 to October 2021, has been invited by the ICI to explain the department’s decisions during his tenure.