Oreta, Estrada in-law linked to UP fund mess?

The plot, as they say, thickens.

What do two construction firms linked to Estrada brother-in-law, Raul De Guzman, and Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta have to do with a P15-million fund mess involving a former student regent at the University of the Philippines?

The question cropped up yesterday after The STAR learned from UP sources that former student regent, Hannah Eunice Serana, had told constituents in August that she was negotiating with the construction firm A.M. Oreta and Associates, owned by the senator’s husband, Prospero, to work on the controversial building renovation project that has once again placed the university in the center of public scrutiny.

"Then just last month, we received word that she instead tapped a construction firm owned by a son of De Guzman to work on the project," said Kristine Clare Bugayong, who succeeds Serana at the Office of the Student Regent.

Bugayong, however, denied that Serana belonged to the STAND-UP party, which dominates campus politics in UP Diliman. She said Serana had headed the League of Filipino Students (LFS) in Cebu, although Serana’s group, like STAND-UP, espouses the Maoist-inspired national democratic revolution.

Serana is accused of funneling a P15-million fund drawn from Estrada’s social fund to a private foundation she and members of her family allegedly put up. The fund was intended for the renovation of the annex of the student-run Vinzon’s Hall in Diliman into the "President Joseph Ejercito Estrada Student Hall."

Once renovated, the annex was to house the offices of the Student Regent, the Faculty Regent, the Student Museum, a mini-theater, a conference hall, a study lounge and a cafe. The whole project was to cost P38 million, with the Office of the President providing the P15-million from Estrada’s Social Fund.

It was supposed to start within 15 days from the date of the release of the fund. The fund was released to Serana on Oct. 24 through the Land Bank of the Philippines Malacañang Branch. Until now, however, it has yet to start.

Documents obtained by The STAR indicate that it was De Guzman, a long-time professor at the university’s National Center for Public Administration and Governance, who had interceded on Serana’s behalf for an audience with Estrada so she could present him the proposed project.

Serana, a senior political science student enrolled at the UP College in Cebu, had written De Guzman in September, asking that he set an appointment in her behalf with Estrada.

Both De Guzman, who served as Estrada’s consultant on development administration, and Oreta sit in the 12-member UP Board of Regents, the highest policy-making body in the state university.

If indeed any of them had to do with the project, it would have been a clear case of conflict of interest on their part.

The Student Regent is elected by an assembly of college councils– called the Kasama sa UP –from the constituent campuses of the state university. Her election is affirmed by an appointment to the office by the President of the Philippines.

She serves a one-year term, during which she takes a leave of absence from her studies so she could take on her duties as representative of students of the university to the UP BOR.

The case has sparked heated debates between rival political groups in the university. The Diliman-based Samasa alliance has demanded a revamp in the selection process for the student regent, saying it is "undemocratic" and "unresponsive to the real needs of the students."

The STAND-UP alliance and its allies in the other campuses, however, say the selection process has nothing to do with financial mess. The Samasa alliance has been proposing that nominees to the Office of the Student Regent be directly voted for. STAND-UP and its allies dominate the Kasama sa UP.

This is the second time the university’s name has been dragged into a financial mess. When Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson made his expose on the alleged direct links of Mr. Estrada to illegal gambling, he said the then President channeled some P200-million in jueteng money to a private foundation headed De Guzman. Two other university officials were identified as trustees of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation.

Bugayong, representing the Office of the Student Regent, was to file yesterday graft charges with the Office of the Ombudsman against Serana and a brother, John Ian, in connection with the fund mess.

Martin Gregorio, university vice president for administration, earlier told The STAR about a telephone conversation he had with Serana. According to the professor, Serana had told him that she had turned over the money to the private contractor through her brother.

Gregorio said university officials have not been consulted about the project. According to him, it appears that the project did not go through public bidding as required by law, nor did Serana consult the UP Diliman Chancellor about the project. – Romel Bagares

"Normally, it is the campus architect who takes care of the architectural design of the project or at least, the project is coordinated with the campus architect upon approval by the Chancellor," he told The STAR. "Here, you can see that she just did away with the process, doing things on her own, to the detriment of the interest of the university."

Serana also faces a fact-finding committee convened by UP President Francisco Nemenzo. If found guilty of administrative charges, she could be expelled from the university. – Romel Bagares