COA to meet on CICC probe

CEBU, Philippines - Officials of the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas are scheduled to meet with the Commission on Audit to discuss the pending investigation into the alleged anomaly in the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center.

The meeting is scheduled within the week following the delay in the COA’s reply to the anti-graft office’s request for copies of the audit reports and other pertinent papers concerning the CICC.

Assistant Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Palanca-Santiago said she will meet with the officials of COA to discuss the matter as they also wind up their fact-finding investigation.

Santiago earlier issued a tracer letter to the COA after the latter failed to provide them copies of the audit reports even if the request was made almost two years ago.

Santiago sent the letter to COA regional director Delfin Aguilar on July 17, 2009 after almost two years since she made the first request on September 4, 2007.

Graft investigator Roderick Blazo, who is conducting the fact-finding investigation into the alleged anomaly in the construction of the CICC, said that he is now ready to come up with his final evaluation report but cannot make it without the COA’s findings.

The anti-graft office enlisted the help of COA in the audit of the CICC transactions because they have the technical capability of doing it.

The CICC is under fact-finding investigation and audit inquiry by the Ombudsman-Visayas and the COA after allegations that the Cebu provincial government paid more than it should have for the CICC as a result of alleged violations of the procurement law, including the splitting of contracts, negotiated procurement and selective bidding.

Among the issues being looked into by the anti-graft is that the contractor, WT Construction, allegedly did not post the lowest bid.

The Capitol built the CICC to host some of the activities of the 2007 ASEAN Summit. The project used local funds amounting to almost P1 billion. Governor Gwendolyn Garcia however said in her public accounting that the Capitol only spent P573 million.

The figure however does not include the P261,217,978 claims of WT Construction for the additional works they did allegedly upon the request of the governor even without a contract.

WT Construction already filed a civil case against the province to claim the amount and Regional Trial Court Branch 6 judge Ester Veloso ruled in favor of the contractor, directing the Capitol to pay P263,263,261 or P2 million more than what WT construction demanded.

The province was also instructed to pay legal interest of 12 percent per annum to be computed from Jan. 22, 2008 until the amount is fully paid, plus P50,000 as reimbursed legal expenses. The Capitol however filed a reconsideration which is still pending before the court. — Fred P. Languido/BRP   (FREEMAN NEWS)