Makati gov't: Experts consulted in building probe didn't say project was overpriced

MANILA, Philippines - A spokesman for the Makati City government said none of the experts who accompanied members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in last Monday’s inspection of the Makati City Hall Building 2 said the building was overpriced.

Makati City government Spokesman Lito Anzures, who also accompanied the Senate inspection team led by Sens. Aquilino Pimentel III and Antonio Trillanes IV during the floor-to-floor inspection of the 11-storey building, said the experts did not say the building was overpriced.

Anzures said it is only the court that can validate the allegation of overpricing in the building’s construction.

“Random and piecemeal assessments made by engineers, architects and quantity surveyors tapped by the Senate are not conclusive, and therefore cannot be used to validate the alleged overprice. It is only the courts that can determine overprice and criminal liability on the basis of evidence presented and the testimonies of all parties involved,” Anzures said.

Anzures also expressed confidence that the charges will be dismissed in court because the city government had fully complied with the Procurement Act in the construction of the said building.

“In all the years during the construction of Makati City Hall Building 2, there were no Audit Observation Memos or disallowances issued by the resident Commission on Audit (COA). This in itself clearly implies that there were no anomalies and that all the requirements of the Procurement Act were complied with,” Anzures said.

Anzures added that COA had found the contract amounts and contract costs to be reasonable after conducting a contract review at each phase of the project in March 2008, March 2009, December 2010, October 2011 and March 2013.

“COA had consistently found the contract amounts and costs to be ‘reasonable’ and within the allowable limit of variance pursuant to COA Resolution 91-52 dated Sept. 17, 1991,” Anzures said.

Anzures said the Blue Ribbon Committee inspection, data from the National Statistics Office, the purported construction costs of other buildings, and market value appraisals cannot be used as bases for the allegation of overpricing 

Meanwhile, Anzures added that even the Procurement Act does not require the procuring entity to limit the construction costs to National Statistics Office data.

“The itemized costs of the bill of materials and labor in the construction of Building 2 show that the prices were those prevailing at the time when the materials and labor were used or incurred.  This has been validated by the testimony of a COA technical audit specialist who swore at the August 20 hearing that that the prices were okay,” he said.

“If all of the materials and labor were priced properly in each phase, the combined cost of all phases cannot make Makati City Hall Building 2 overpriced,” Anzures added.