Blue Ribbon wants documents on Iloilo building

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate Blue Ribbon committee has asked former and incumbent government officials involved in the alleged overpriced Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) to provide documents in connection with the construction of the controversial project.

The panel, which is looking at starting its hearings on the ICC next week, is in the process of gathering documents on the case, which is the basis of a plunder complaint filed against Senate President Franklin Drilon before the Office of the Ombudsman.

“May we be furnished documents relevant to this allegation. We will appreciate it very much if the documents are submitted to us before the end of this week,” Blue Ribbon oversight office management director general Rodolfo Noel Quimbo said in a letter dated Nov. 3.

The letters were sent to Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. and former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada.

Singson is expected to be the first resource person at the hearing.

Blue Ribbon chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said Drilon would be free to attend the hearings and answer questions if he wants.

However, Drilon said that he intends to inhibit from the hearings since he is the subject of the complaint filed by his former consultant Mejorada.

“I will inhibit. I will not participate because the people might ask why am I taking part in this when I am involved (in the case),” Drilon said in Filipino in an interview over dzMM.

Asked if he would be willing to answer questions from his colleagues during the hearing, Drilon said he would answer whatever is asked of him.

“If that is what they want then I will face them and answer, I have nothing to hide here,” he said.

Drilon previously admitted that he had pushed for the construction of the ICC as a project that would benefit not only his home province of Iloilo, but also the country as a whole since the facility could be used for international events such as the ministerial meetings of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) next year.

He stressed he was not involved in any way in the bidding process for the project, which was conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Drilon clarified that there were no allocations from his Priority Development Assistance Fund for the ICC project.

What was allocated, he pointed out, was P300 million from the Disbursement Acceleration Program funds, while the rest came from the regular budget of the DPWH (P200 million) and the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (P200 million) for a total of P700 million.

“All of these can be found in the records on the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) website,” Drilon said.

Guingona gave his assurance that the hearings would be fair even if Drilon, his colleague in the Liberal Party, is involved.

“I have to do my job so I will do my job,” Guingona said.

‘ICC probe a diversion’

The Senate investigation into allegations of overpricing in the construction of the ICC is part of efforts by the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) to divert public attention from various corruption issues against Vice President Jejomar Binay, senior administration lawmakers said yesterday.

Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas, deputy chairman of the Liberal Party Visayas bloc, said the opposition UNA is in a “desperate situation” as allegations of ill-gotten wealth against the Vice President unravel.

“It is obvious that the UNA cannot come up with a convincing explanation regarding the corruption issues hounding the Vice President. They were resorting to spiteful personality attacks to muddle the issue and it is clear that among their targets are the allies of the President, including Senate President (Franklin) Drilon and some of the Cabinet officials,” Treñas said.

He said the allegations against Drilon, Singson and Jimenez in connection with the alleged overpricing of ICC “is only the tip of the iceberg of a wider and massive political plot to discredit President Aquino’s anti-corruption drive.”

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said the charges filed against Drilon were “logically flawed.”

“Why was Drilon included in the case when he did not have a hand in the implementation of the bidding process of the Iloilo project?” Evardone said.

He said as a lawmaker, Drilon’s role was limited to finding the needed funds to finance the project, which is part of a campaign to improve Iloilo’s capacity to host the 2015 APEC ministerial meetings.

Aklan Rep. Teodorico Haresco defended Singson, citing his reputation for integrity, professionalism and as a much respected figure in the private sector.

“Secretary Singson is already a known success in the private sector, setting principles of the right price, product, place and priority in projects,” he said, adding the public works chief has remained steady in his goal of upgrading all roads and bridges to global standards by 2016.

“This is Philippine politics at its ugliest,” he said.

Sought for comment on the impending investigation of Drilon, Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said President Aquino would rather focus on keeping reforms on track than on immersing himself in discussions tainted with partisan politics.

“Our guidance from the President regarding this is to focus on reform programs of the government and to avoid as much as possible discussions on partisan political issues among politicians,” Coloma said.

He said he is not aware of any discussions between the President and Drilon on the matter.

Meanwhile, UNA interim president Toby Tiangco said they were resigned to the fact that Binay can never expect fair treatment from senators but stressed “we wanted to see if indeed they don’t have a double standard brand of justice.” – With Paolo Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano, Delon Porcalla