Substandard projects "More thorough" probe by Ombuds needed

CEBU, Philippines - The four-man fact finding committee investigating the alleged irregularities in the implementation of barangay projects plans to endorse the case to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for a more thorough investigation.

Lawyer Dominic Diño, the committee’s secretariat, said that while they are finalizing the draft of their final report, one of their recommendations would include the request for the Ombudsman to conduct a further study on the case.

There are some areas they could not dig up in their capacity as a fact-finding committee of the local government unit. The anti-graft office would be the proper venue to determine if personalities involved are liable of whichever charge is applicable, he said.

Diño said they intend to submit all their findings to the Ombudsman once it is completed.

In the committee’s end, they met with everyone involved in the alleged anomalous implementation of projects.

Among those they called for a meeting is former Association of Barangay Council Engineer Raul Buscato. Others were from the barangays where substandard projects were found but some were not able to attend the meeting during the earlier part of the investigation.

There are also some matters they need to check with the accounting office, particularly the scope of the New Government Accounting System which the ABC said is the reason the Department of Engineering and Public Works were not required to make an inspection before the contractors were paid upon the completion of the projects.

On the alleged conspiracy between barangay officials and the contractor that got most of the projects, Diño said they are assessing if the barangay conducted the proper bidding which includes the pre-qualification contractors.

Diño said that in City Hall, one contractor is not allowed to undertake several projects at the same time because they have to consider the company’s capacity.

E. M. Arante Construction was able to get several contracts from different barangays because each barangay represents one entity that is separate from the other. In each barangay’s records, the transaction of Arante Construction would not reflect its transaction with other barangays.

“The barangay, as a separate local government unit may conduct its own bidding for its project, so it has its own BAC. Tan-awonon pa if the barangays conducted pre-qualification because had there been proper prequalification, makit-an nila nga naa pud ni contract sa lain ang ilang contractor,” he said.

Had the barangay conducted the proper prequalification, they would have known that Arante has other contracts with other barangays.

He refused to provide more details of their findings but said there are many other concerns they discovered. Diño said these will be made public soon. —(FREEMAN)