What should be Eastern Samar’s most ambitious infrastructure project to date has been generating lot of controversy.
A P500-million road fund for Eastern Samar, tucked into the Public Works and Highways 2010 budget, aims to modernize 20 kilometers of the main Wright-Taft-Borongan-Guiuan section of the national highway, the single biggest investment for a highway project in the province in years.
Unfortunately, some people are seeing this multi-million road fund in another light.
The project covers a single stretch of Eastern Samar’s main highway. To ensure uniformity in structural integrity and standards, it should be bid out as a single project. And because it is worth P500 million, it should be the DPWH national office which should be in charge of the bidding and the awards process to ensure full transparency and integrity.
Big, single infra investments for a single stretch of a highway are normally included in the budget as that – a single spending item. Even the Government Procurement Act prohibits splitting of contracts. However, a legislator known for his vulgar and meddling ways arm-twisted the DPWH into chopping, slicing and dicing the P500 million fund.
The DPWH budget says that the P500 million road project is a project of two packages broken down into 12 projects. The amounts of the 12 vary, two of which are worth P60 million each, and the rest between P40 million and P50 million.
But still, the amounts are beyond local jurisdictions. And so two officials of Eastern Samar are said to be moving to chop the project into parts apparently to control the bidding process.
Because DPWH bidding rules provide that district engineers can bid out projects worth P20 million and below (with regional offices of the DPWH taking care of projects from P20 million up to P200 million and the central offices of the DPWH taking care of all projects above P200 million), a certain district engineer, with the backing of his congressman, are said to have asked the DPWH Secretary for authority to bid out all components of the road project worth P50 million and below.
If this is allowed, this district engineer can bid out all 10 of the 12 components of the P500 million road project.
Fortunately, the Secretary has held off decision on the matter. The regional director for Eastern Visayas is also said to be lukewarm to the idea. It is also a good thing that Budget Secretary Noynoy Andaya has withheld funds for the project.
A dramatic intercession from President Arroyo, who can very well order the bidding of the P500 million construction as a whole, is in order to once and for all stop the slice and bid scheme for an all-too-important road project.
Through the grapevine
This “governor” with the best funded and armed ‘private army’ is said to be building a shooting range where his ‘soldiers’ can train. They say it’s a two-storey building costing some P59 million at a prime location near a historic landmark and a creek. The second storey will serve as a multipurpose hall where his people can socialize and maybe do some ballroom dancing.
[In fairness to him though, he does not move around town in a huge American SUV as most governors do. He goes around in a more humble Toyota Fortuner and his back up car is an even more humble Toyota AUV.]
There is also talk that this governor is working on a deal with his favorite constituent that runs in the billions. The former is said to have enlisted the help of a close relative of the House Speaker to assist in the funding.
Meanwhile, in his office, Number 2 is rushing the deal, breathing down the neck of everyone working on it to speed things up. Number 2 does the math and she is well equipped to do that as she is armed with a PhD.
This Eve is not the only Eve in his office. Needless to say, the other Eve is also entrusted with billion-peso deals. The relationship with the other Eve, however, is purely platonic but her deals are just as big.
The other Eve is in charge of the governor’s printing and ‘metals’ manufacturing concern. The business is unbelievably huge. So huge, in fact, that there isn’t anyone in this society, rich or poor, who hasn’t used any of their products.
The other Eve had wanted to award the purchase of a new printing equipment from a European manufacturer last year although a Japanese bidder had offered to supply it for half the price. The purchase didn’t push through because the Japanese manufacturer made representations with the other ‘councilors’ in the board.
The genius of this other Eve lies in the fact that she makes billions even if she botches the printing jobs. The secret is in the spoilage. Some in the board have already asked her for her production data and to account for the spoils. Surely, the spoils do not all go to recycling. From an outsider’s perspective, her brilliance appears to be how she manages to turn a profit from the spoils.
Caveat subscriptor
Not everything that glitters is gold.
One company unfortunately learned this lesson at the cost of P3 million.
Company C, which is into wholesaling and retailing of auto glass, including float and tinted ones, engaged Company D which is based in Mandaluyong City to be its Internet service provider in a bid to improve Internet access in all its offices.
Because Company D was a sweet talker, it was able to induce Company C into entering into a sales contract worth P4 million, with a commitment that D should finish the job in two and a half months.
The period has long lapsed and despite Company C having made a partial payment of more than P3 million, the project remained unfinished.
Company C was left with no choice but to severe relations with D and demand for the return of the money already paid, but inspite of repeated demands, D would not fulfill its obligation nor return the money. C is now suing D before the Makati Regional Trial Court for breach of contract plus damages, and of course, the return of funds already paid.
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