OFFICIALS and employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) can now report to work without wearing their prescribed office uniforms.
This is after DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon ordered the temporary suspension of the uniform policy to protect the staff from alleged bullying and harassment amid the ongoing investigation into the anomalous flood control projects.
“In light of current events, all officials and employees of the DPWH are excused from wearing the prescribed office uniform until further notice,” a memorandum dated September 9 read, which was made public on Thursday, September 11.
However, the DPWH officials and employees must come to work “in appropriate and presentable attire at all times,” it added.
In an interview with ANC Headstart, Dizon said he decided to halt the office uniform policy in response to reports of harassment their employees are subjected to in public areas.
“The union of the DPWH told me, ‘Sir, ‘yung mga tao natin kawawa naman. Sumasakay sila sa MRT [Metro Rail Transit], sa jeep, sa bus, naka-DPWH sila. Kinukutya sila, hina-harass sila ng mga kababayan natin.’ They don’t deserve that,” he said.
Filipinos took to the streets and various social media platforms to condemn the questionable DPWH flood control projects, which were found to be either substandard or not implemented at all.
While the DPWH is at the center of the controversy, Dizon stressed that not all their ordinary employees are involved in the flood control mess.
“These people, by and large, are very honest people; they’re just doing their jobs,” he added.
Several government officials and contractors are being linked to the flood control scandal.
Recently, former Bulacan Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez implicated Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva in the alleged irregularities in the flood control projects. Hernandez accused the lawmakers of receiving kickbacks from the projects, which the two denied.
On Thursday, the DPWH filed criminal complaints at the Office of the Ombudsman against 20 DPWH personnel and four private construction firms linked to the flood control controversy.
