Board suspends airport manager

The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) board yesterday put airport General Manager Adelberto Yap under indefinite preventive suspension and designated Captain Romeo Bersonda as OIC.

The board has also adopted a separate resolution authorizing Bersonda to implement a reorganization of employees, who are suspected to be in collusion with Yap in the alleged irregular transactions at the airport.

Putting Yap under preventive suspension was done so that necessary documents will be secured, especially that there is information reaching the body that there is an attempt to destroy documents that may implicate Yap and other airport employees in at least four questionable airport deals.

In relation to this, MCIAA board member and former Cebu City vice mayor Renato Osmeña, was designated as the "board member overseer" tasked to look into and help Bersonda in the airport management.

Department of Transportation and Communication Assistant Secretary Nilo Jatico, in a news conference yesterday, made the official announcement, which is covered by a resolution unanimously approved by the body during its regular meeting at the office of the governor.

The immediate designation of both Bersonda and Osmeña was done so that the change in leadership at the airport would not hamper the preparations of the airport for the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who is also a MCIAA board member, ironically was the one who moved for Yap's suspension. She used to be a staunch supporter of Yap when the Civil Service Commission questioned his credentials to hold the post.

MCIAA board member Winglip Chang seconded the motion of the governor.

Yap arrived for the said meeting, but was later told that he would be excused so the fact-finding committee can present its initial findings.

"The very reason that we make the preventive suspension because we have all the reasons to believe that something is wrong with his management," Jatico said.

Jatico, nevertheless, emphasized that the airport body's decision to preventively suspend Yap has nothing to do with the CSC's disapproval of his appointment for lack of the required third-level eligibility.

On the other hand, Garcia said it is their stand that they can immediately preventively suspend the GM because it is consistent with their stand that the GM is outside of the parameters of the existing Civil Service rules and regulations.

In fact, the board insists that future appointees of the board for the position of general manager should not seek approval from CSC.

Aside from Yap, there are two other airport officials who are affected in the preventive suspension order based on the recommendation of the fact-finding committee, and "perhaps a few more, who might be in a position to control the outflow of certain documents."

The two airport officials had, along with Yap, signed the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) resolution awarding the P110-million contract to the ARN Builders for the apron project.

The contract, which should have had cost only P30 million as was the project cost when approved by the board, was recently rescinded due to very serious questions with regards cost estimates, volumes, qualifications, and authenticity of documents among others.

Further, Garcia said the board adopted a separate resolution granting Bersonda the authority to reassign certain employees or to implement changes in the organizational and operational structures at the airport.

"They are covered by existing Civil Service rules and regulations. So pending the serving of a formal charge against them, they will need to be reassigned," Garcia said.

Further, Jatico said they will look into the legal aspect on how long it will take the fact-finding committee to complete its investigation. Justice Undersecretary Macabangkit Lanto chairs the three-man committee, which was formed over a week ago by the board

Gov. Garcia first showed her displeasure with Yap when he suggested to award the over P40-million contract for the construction of an extended VIP lounge at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Airbase to the Young Builders Inc. as a contiguous project to the ongoing construction of administration building.

In the P124-million contract for the construction of administration building, the governor also found out that there was an item inserted for the purchase of a vehicle.

The construction of the administration building is not part of the summit preparation.

Yap's suggestion is reportedly in violation to the R.A. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act. The MCIAA is now in the process of holding a separate bidding for the VIP lounge extension project.

The same is true for the terminated P110-million contract with the ARN Builders, which covers questionable items amounting to millions, including the purchase of two service vehicles, which the airport authority could not even own when the contract ends.