The Supreme Court (SC) has directed several individuals and government agencies—including the Office of the President (OP)—to explain their involvement in the alleged ghost flood control projects, which were brought to the Court’s attention through a petition filed by a group of lawyers and environmentalists.
According to a document reportedly from the Supreme Court En Banc, shared by the Facebook page Batas PH on Thursday, October 16, the order includes the Office of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. among those required to submit a formal explanation.
Other agencies named in the order are the Senate, represented by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III; the House of Representatives, represented by former Speaker Martin Romualdez; the Department of Budget and Management (DBM); the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
The SC has given the named parties ten days to file their respective comments.
The order stems from a petition for the issuance of a Writ of Kalikasan filed on September 11 by several lawyers and environmental advocates, including Atty. Antonio Enrile Inton Jr.
According to Inton, all petitioners are taxpayers concerned about alleged irregularities in certain government flood control projects.
“May mga substandard na mga proyekto, mga flood control project. Meron silang mga ghost project. Nakasingil na sila (gobyerno). [At] iyong pera, napaghati-hatian na,” Inton said.
He further emphasized, “All of the signatories herein-below are taxpayers, who are seeking to enjoin the entire government bureaucracy of the Philippines to redress and directly resolve the most severe environmental damage brought by changing harsh weather patterns (climate change) and human activities or development.”