Whistle-blower won’t quit PEA

They haven’t reached the end of the road yet.

Public Estates Authority board member and director Sulficio Tagud — who blew the whistle on alleged anomalies in the agency — said yesterday he would not quit the PEA as suggested by President Arroyo.

Tagud said that by staying on at PEA, he would have access to documents pertinent to the President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard (PDMB) overpricing case and the graft charges he filed against board chairman Ernest Villareal, director Rodlfo Tuazon, board member and general manager Benjamin Cariño and members Josemari Gerochi, Martia Sanciago and Angelito Villanueva.

Tuazon and Tagud, said in separate statements that they have decided to resign from the PEA — but not until the fight is over.

"I will resign, except that the timing right now is not right. There are many documents yet that I have to secure from the PEA in connection with the plunder case I filed against these PEA officials," Tagud said.

However, Tagud added that he "will not resign from my post so that I can have continuous access to other documents that I would need to strengthen the plunder cases I have filed against my co-PEA officials."

"I will not resign yet until the lawyers are satisfied with the documents that we have in our possession in the prosecution of those that I accused of plunder," he added.

Tagud blew the whistle on the alleged P600-million overpricing of the P1.2 billion PDMB construction project in Pasay City’s reclamation area and filed graft charges against 16 PEA officials and a private contractor before the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Tagud filed plunder raps against private contractor Jesusito Ledesma, owner of the JD Ledesma Construction (JDLC) firm contracted to build the PDMB.

Tuazon, meanwhile, also said he is not about to resign yet. "It will be unfair if the PEA directors are forced to resign even before the charges against them are resolved by the proper authorities."

"Now that we are on leave, we can no longer influence the course of the investigation. We also do not receive any more compensation, allowances or other perks," Tuazon added.

Tagud and Tuazon’s statements were made in reaction to President Arroyo’s statement that she would be pleased to accept the resignation of any PEA board member.

Tuazon said he "would not resign until the investigation of the charges against them (have) been completed. And then, regardless of the outcome of the investigation, I will resign irrevocably."

Tuazon also urged Congress to amend the PEA charter, as there is a "need to clarify certain provisions regarding the responsibility of board members and the PEA management executives regarding the approval and pricing of contracts."

Other PEA-employed respondents in the plunder case filed by Tagud include assistant general manager Jaime Millan, deputy general manager for operations and technical services Manuel Berina Jr., deputy general manager for finance Theron Lacson, technical service department manager Bernardo Viray, legal department head Cristina Mortel, project management officer Pocholo Zorilla, PEA-COA auditors Gloria Cornejo, Arturo Layug, Benilda Mendoza, Manuela dela Paz, and several John and Jane Does.

Legaspi responded to Tagud’s accusations by suing Tagud for extortion, which case was filed before the Ombudsman. The contractor said Tagud extorted P2.1 million in cash from JDLC and attempted to extort another P14 million.

Tuazon said before the PEA board could force Tagud to resign, the whistle-blower went to media with his expose on the PDMB.

Making his remarks at the Kapihan sa Rembrandt forum in Quezon City, Tuazon again defended the PDMB project. He pointed out that a similar road building project, the Cebu Coastal Road, cost twice as much as the PDMB, even though the terrain on which the Cebu road was built and the materials used were similar.

Tuzaon also said there were no price adjustments for the PDMB project, although additional costs were incurred in the course of the project.

In a related development, Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) spokesman Crispin Remulla belittled Tagud’s threat to file plunder charges against the old PEA board, which approved the PDMB construction.

"Tagud is perjuring himself left and right. First he told the senators that the original PDMB contract as approved by the PEA board during (the tenure of former President Joseph Estrada) was aboveboard. Now he’s making a complete fool of himself by making a 360-degree turn," Remulla said. "Who’s going to believe (Tagud) now?"

According to Remulla, the PDMB contract was classified as a "flagship project" during Estrada’s presidency and needed only a simple bidding process.

Then PEA chairman Frisco San Juan issued a certification to Estrada that the road project along Manila Bay had undergone bidding and that the PEA board exercised due diligence, Remulla added.

Estrada, Remulla said, "approved the project conditionally, provided that no variation order, no change order and no supplementary agreement is undertaken without the President’s approval."