“It’s not opinion polls that determine the outcome of elections, it’s votes in ballot boxes.” –Nicola Sturgeon
Ilonggo architect Salvador ‘Jun’ Tavarro, Jr., who lost in five attempts to join the Iloilo City Council, said, if reporters were only diligent and sharp in their investigative reporting, “There would be dozens of public officials hauled off to court for graft and corruption every week.”
He also ribbed members of local media for “not doing their homework” and encouraged members of the press to study engineering and law.
The part-time University of San Agustin instructor referred to the Department of Public Works and Highways as the “number one source of graft and corruption in the country;” along with labeling the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Armed Forces of the Philippines among the “most corrupt agencies.”
While referring to a radio anchor who called him a “nuisance candidate,” Tavarro said, “Even if you are the best investigative reporter [at] your station, you are useless if all you can do is go to the DPWH and interview contractors with [an] ax to grind against the regional director and other department heads.”
He claimed reporters “missed” an opportunity to “hit it big,” or release an exposé, because “they don’t understand the engineering terminologies and how the road and infrastructure projects are manipulated by corrupt DPWH officials.”
The urban planner continued, claiming millions in taxpayer funding is wasted and pocketed by those in government because they know how to manipulate public works projects and the bidding process, are familiar with the language of the system, and aware of the technicalities and ins-and-outs of certain projects; which makes it easy to confuse the public. Meanwhile, in terms of the media, he bemoaned, “So-called investigative reporters only interview employees and disgruntled bidders, [and] review and xerox bundles of documents that, mostly, they don’t understand.”
Graft and corruption within the DPWH, among other agencies, starts in the public bidding process, Tavarro added. The words “ten percent,” sometimes “fifteen percent,” are reportedly “normal bywords” and are part of standard operating procedure in graft-ridden government agencies.
“It’s impossible to curb graft and corruption with the kind of system we have,” he went on to explain. “Many grafters in government are getting rich while some infrastructure projects suffer from [the use of] sub-standard materials and sub-standard implementation.”
“That’s why members of the press must walk an extra mile by studying the technical terms in every government agency that they cover so they can easily spot the anomalies,” he added.
“If a reporter is assigned by his editor or station manager to cover the Hall of Justice beat, for instance, it is imperative that he knows some legal terms and how the cases are filed in court,” the architect noted.
Tavarro said, if he had won, he would pass a resolution requesting government agencies explain how government projects are undertaken from start to finish in simple terms, or word understood by ordinary taxpayers.
Anyone within an earshot could understand his sentiment, but they also noticed his “hard feelings” toward some of the “more popular” radio personalities who won similar positions in every election and prevented him from landing within the “Magic 12.”
“I am probably the most qualified candidate in Iloilo City,” he stated. “No one can question my competence and educational background; but, how can I win against [more popular] media people?” Tavarro, who always ran as an independent, sobbed./WDJ