Jancom lashes back at Acosta

Jancom Environmental Corporation branded yesterday as "highly irresponsible and unbecoming of a high official of the government," the statement of Bukidnon Rep. Nereus Acosta accusing the Supreme Court of "duping and forcing President Arroyo" in upholding the validity of a waste to energy contract with the government.

Acosta made the statement in a recent press conference held by a group of NGOs, including other project proponents.

In a press statement, Manuel Molina, Jancom’s legal counsel, said Acosta "unjustly and unkindly cast aspersions on the integrity of the justices and questioned the wisdom of the decision without any concrete basis."

The decision of the Supreme Court, according to Molina, indicated that there was evidentiary proof that a rigorous process was observed in the bidding, discussion, and evaluation of the project.

"The highest tribunal merely acted on the government’s petition for review, seeking to reverse the decision of the lower court upholding the validity of the contract," he added.

Jancom’s legal counsel pointed out that the project was discussed and evaluated by six separate inter-agency committees, including the Executive Committee, the Presidential Task Force on Waste Management, the Pre-qualifications, Bids and Awards Committee, and the Technical Board of NEDA’s investment coordinating committee.

"All the issues involving the tipping fee, the terms of reference, and the conditionalities were addressed during the almost four years of discussions on the project," he said.

Molina said the contract needs the signature of the President for the effectivity and implementation of the project.

Molina, a former Constitutional Commission delegate also welcomed Acosta’s move for the House committee on ecology to conduct an investigation into the Jancom project.

He suggested, however, that the committee should also invite other proponents so the lawmakers can have a comparative basis for evaluating the technology, the quality of Jancom’s services as well as on the reasonableness of the tipping fee offer.

"Congressman Acosta should be wary of those feeding him erroneous and misleading information because it is obvious that his sources are primarily interested in getting the contract for themselves," Molina said.

The proposed Congressional investigation, according to him, will unmask the real motives of those questioning the Jancom project.

"Mr. Acosta will find out that some of the other proponents do not have the capability, the technology, much less the resources to undertake so vital and important a project; they are only interested in getting the contract for themselves," he added.