Lawyer to challenge ‘acquittal’ of PEA execs

The lawyer of a whistle-blower said he would "definitely" challenge a Commission on Audit report that declared it found no evidence of wrongdoing in the construction of the President Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. in Pasay City.

Contradicting charges made by Public Estates Authority board member Sulficio Tagud Jr., the COA had declared the road’s P1.1 billion cost as reasonable after an investigation.

Tagud’s lawyer, Leonard de Vera, doubted the report’s veracity. "The audit report is not binding and is only an opinion. It is not conclusive and final and is subject to challenge," he said, adding that the COA has been known to reverse itself in court.

Tagud alleged last year that the cost of a segment of the 4.9-kilometer road was too expensive, raising suspicions of kickbacks against his fellow PEA board members.

The road is a project of the Public Estates Authority, tasked with developing the land reclaimed from Manila Bay on which the boulevard was built.

Tagud particularly questioned the 2.3-kilometer segment built by J.D. Legaspi Construction at a cost of P837.3 million.

He said the other, although shorter, segments of the road built by two other contractors had much lower price tags. The SM Group constructed a 1.4-kilometer stretch for P132.5 million, while R-1 Construction built a 1.2-kilometer portion for P164.8 million.

In its report, the COA team said its "technical evaluation of the project shows that the total project cost, including the price adjustments, is reasonable and therefore not overpriced."

"The project is constructed in accordance with the approved design, scope of work and as-built plans and specifications. The audit team, therefore, finds no sufficient basis to support the allegation of overpricing," it said.

The team conducted "borehole tests" and examined the road materials used in coordination with the Bureau of Research and Standards of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

It said the portion built by J.D. Legaspi cost much more because the contractor did more work "to attain the required soil consolidation and stability."

As an independent government agency, the COA conducts audits to prevent misuse of government funds and stem corruption. The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission filed charges last year against PEA officials allegedly involved.

De Vera said the report’s objectivity was suspect, pointing out that COA auditors assigned to the PEA were among those charged. "The PAGC does not have any agenda while COA has an ulterior motive – to protect their own. They’re giving in to peer pressure," he said.

"They are within the same loop. Under the theory of communal responsibility, the crime of one is the crime of all."

Another complainant in the case, PlunderWatch, a watchdog group, also questioned the report.

Group official Carol Araullo argued that the "borehole tests" conducted on the road were conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways, a government agency seen as one of the most corrupt. "There’s conflict of interest," she said.

In an interview last year, US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said the Philippines was losing out to other countries in luring foreign investors because of corruption.

Independent estimates suggest at least a fifth of the government budget is lost through graft.

One local watchdog group, Procurement Watch Inc., estimated that the Philippines loses P21 billion a year to corruption in the procurement of government goods and services alone.