Paz denies any hand in Mactan road project

CEBU, Philippines - Lapu-Lapu Mayor Paz Radaza has denied asking a private firm to work on a road project despite the absence of budget allocation from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

In a press conference yesterday, Radaza said the city government had nothing to do with the concreting of the Mactan Circumferential Road in Barangay Marigondon in 2012. 

She said the city should not be dragged into the controversy because the project was between the contractor and DPWH. The city reportedly did not participate in the bidding because the concreting was a national project.

In a civil case filed in court, Mary Ann Gonzalodo, owner of Gonzalodo Enterprises, said DPWH failed to pay the company P15.3 million.

Gonzalodo said the amount represents the actual expenses for the concreting of the circumferential road, which the company agreed to undertake despite the absence of a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO). The project reportedly had an approved budget of around P18.8 million.

One of the reasons why the company reportedly agreed to do the project despite the absence of a SARO was the request of DPWH 7 Sixth District Engineering officer-in-charge Santiago Suico Jr. and from Radaza herself.

But Radaza said this is not so. In fact, she said, when she learned from Suico that there was no SARO for the project, she wrote former DPWH 7 Director Pedro Herrera Jr. on March 12, 2012 and asked that the agency resolve the issue.

Radaza said she learned about the SARO issue from Suico’s letter dated February 28,2012 informing her that his office had not received funds for the project. Suico reportedly said that the contractor started the project at their “own risk” and has suspended the project pending the release of the SARO.

Prior to that, Radaza wrote to DPWH 7 about the inconvenience experienced by motorists and establishments because of the repair of the road in Barangay Marigondon.

“It is unbelievable that this thing had happened because, in the first place, subject road was not really in bad shape that (needed) an immediate repair,” the letter reads.

She called the attention of DPWH 7 after a resort general manager furnished her a copy of his letter telling the agency about the problems caused by the road repair.

Plantation Bay Manager Efren Belarmino has informed the mayor that no notice was sent before the project was started and traffic was diverted to another direction, which reportedly confused the resort’s guests. There was also no contingency measure when it rained, which inconvenienced the resort’s guests further.  (FREEMAN)