Dakay firm has until end of Sept. to correct defects

Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez, who heads the committee on infrastructure of the provincial board, has given the Dakay Construction until the end of September to correct the defects of the Legislative and Engineering Building otherwise the Capitol would be compelled to pursue the plan to blacklist the firm in all future projects of the provincial government

Sanchez together with some provincial board members yesterday meet with Dakay Construction representatives to discuss the defects. Lawyer Reymund Bertulfo who represents the firm said that his company is willing to correct the minor defects. The company began checking the defects yesterday. However, Bertulfo said the complaints of the provincial board on the sound system in the session hall, which allegedly did not comply with the specifications in the contract and the defects on the roof deck, will be referred to the owner of the firm, Engineer Pirecles Dakay, to decide.

Sanchez said the contractor did not follow the specifications in the contract on the model of the discussion system that would be installed in the session hall.

Sanchez said the roof deck was also defective that has caused water leakage in the offices of some board members.

Sanchez said the P800,000 paid by the provincial government for the sound system was too high for the quality of the system installed by the firm. Sanchez said the sound system installed only cost as much as P300,000. Sanchez said the Capitol wants the installed sound system replaced with what is specified in the contract.

But Bertulfo insisted that they have complied with the specifications, adding that the brand was not specified in the contract because it is against the law. Bertulfo said Section 18 of the Republic Act 9184 otherwise known as the Government Procurement Act prohibits brand specifications. According to Bertulfo, the sound system that they had installed complied with the specifications in the contract.

Bertulfo added that they could not also be blamed for the defects in the roof deck because the problem is with the structural design.

Bertulfo however said that they are now coordinating with the provincial engineering office to correct the defect. Bertulfo said the firm could not repair the roof deck for free. He said the firm might do the repair but it should be considered as extra work which means the provincial government should pay for the service to be rendered. - Fred P. Languido