Leave Your Mark – Manila Bulletin

TREES AND FOREST

(Part 2 of 2)

I often asked Mark how he would rate his transition from Congress to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). He had already been elected to a third term in Congress when President Duterte appointed him to Cabinet in 2016. Our family often found time to get together, usually on Sundays, to chat and chat, no matter what the activity. .

I remember Mark saying that the DPWH portfolio was much more difficult compared to his legislative work as the representative of the city of Las Piñas. He would tell us that President Digong has focused on building more roads, bridges, flood control and solving the traffic nightmare in the capital. “It’s tough because the expectations are so high,” Mark would tell us, but I love the challenge because I know that if I do my job, if the government is successful in modernizing our infrastructure, we can deliver to our country a better future.

And Mark, in my opinion, and as his accomplishments would prove, passed the test with flying colors.

In addition to the roads, bridges, flood control, and the schools he built, Mark has implemented significant reforms within the department to address persistent right-of-way (right-of-way) issues that are delaying projects. infrastructure and corruption, which have plagued DPWH for decades. .

It decentralized the ROW functions by delegating the processing of ROW complaints. It released a revised right-of-way manual that further streamlined the ministry’s right-of-way process. He also presented the Infrastructure Right of Way Management (IROWMA) application for ROW document automation and enhanced monitoring of ROW acquisition. He knew that delays were a burden in the implementation of infrastructure projects in the previous administration, so he abolished the IROW committees which delay the resolution of ROW claims and streamlined the payment and processing of ROW by removing obsolete and unnecessary requirements.

And using the “whole-of-government” approach, he coordinated with the Office of the Court Administrator, the Landbank of the Philippines, and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to find ways to expedite cases. acquisition and expropriation. Right-of-way issues still exist, but DPWH is now able to better manage these issues in order to avoid project delays.

This is something critics fail to see when they falsely and maliciously accuse Mark of “credit grabbing.” First of all, since childhood, Mark has always been the silent type. He doesn’t brag or speak loudly. He lets the results of his work speak for him. Ask someone who really knows him if he has seen Mark take credit for something he did not do. Sometimes he didn’t even take credit for the things he had done!

In all of our discussions about his work at DPWH, not once has Mark taken credit for infrastructure projects initiated by the previous administration. He knew and recognized that some of these projects had been conceptualized and initiated by previous administrations. That is precisely the nature of government — an administration only has a six-year term, and many times projects would not be completed during that term. This is why Mark worked hard with his team to tackle the main cause of the delay: grip issues. The point is that some of these projects that were started by the previous administration were not completed during their time and were in fact completed by the Duterte administration. So in my book, it’s a lot of ado about nothing.

Mark has also launched reforms aimed at making the public procurement process more transparent and accountable. Under its watch, the DPWH has blacklisted at least 25 entrepreneurs since 2018. It issued Ministerial Order No. 127 demanding the strict application of RA 9184, also known as the Market Reform Law. public in the conduct of postqualification of bidders with ongoing delay. Contracts with the DPWH. He has also pioneered the Geotagging DPWH civil works projects to improve the efficiency of planning, budgeting, project monitoring and contract management processes.

The DPWH lost a visionary leader when Mark resigned from his post. But his loss would be the Senate’s gain.
I read an interview where Mark said his inspiration was his wife and daughter: “I want to leave a better world for my daughter and people. Everything I do is for the future. He added: “When I get old my daughter would see the things her father has done for the country. Nothing else could give a father this pleasure.
That hits the mark.

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