Letter to the Editor - Mr. Avila's unfair slant in Dakay construction article

In Freeman's September 23, 2005 issue, Mr. Valeriano "Bobit" Avila in his column Shooting Straight, wrote the article "The Banilad Friar Estate: Why all the trouble?" The first part thereof was about the P60-million Legislative Building of the Province of Cebu constructed by Dakay Construction.

Shorn of profitless preliminaries, the said column laments about the recent complaints of members of the Cebu Provincial Board against Dakay Construction and the undersigned's penchant for "making mountains out of molehills". After a careful reading and judicious calibration of Mr. Avila's column, it may be safety surmised that he has put into the terrain of public opinion the following unsubstantiated averments:

1. That the undersigned "is asking for a big investigation on the alleged defects found in the new P60-million Legislative Building constructed by Dakay Construction on very petty matters like the 'shaking of the elevator' or that its lights went out or even because the microphones that were delivered were a different model or brand".

2. That Dakay Construction is being "harassed",

3. That the undersigned is making "a fuss or a media circus" out of the building defects;

4. That some members of the Cebu Provincial Board, driven by a "hidden agenda" are contriving with one another to "shakedown" Engr. Dakay!"

With all due respect to Mr. Avila's attempt to lend succor and sympathy to his friend, Engr. Ricky Dakay, allow the undersigned to refute the former's allegations and therefore set the record straight.

The undersigned is not a member of the Committee on Infrastructure investigating the alleged defects of the Legislative Building. Nor did he compound the issues against Dakay Construction by attributing to it defects of the operation of the elevators. The records would show that the matter was referred to the same investigating committee and with notice to its contractor. I would also know that it was a different contractor as they appeared before the previous Board to explain the delay in its installation (already installed contrary to Avila's article).

Moreover, investigation on the discussion system (actually the microphone and all other paraphernalia) started on the wrong note. It originated when the undersigned requested for, as a matter of collective privilege, the purchase of additional microphones.

This was after several public consultations and hearings where our guests had to pass microphones from one table to another disrupting the flow of the discussion. It was our indefatigable secretary Atty. Annie Pasaylo who informed the august body that what was delivered and installed was different.

These issues needless to state are matters of public interest being constructed and/or purchased with public funds.

The unfair slant that there may be a 'shakedown' mafia style and a big 'media circus' as Mr. Avila described with ease and convenience remains the product of his fertile imagination. There is none.

When my colleagues deem it necessary to investigate if work was properly executed, I fully concurred. I voted favorably for the resolution calling for the investigation. And the cabal was unanimous then.

Even with the glaringly unfair and prejudicial allusion of a 'shakedown' and a 'media circus' the fact remains that the roof leaks, the wires for our airconditioning system are still exposed, dangles freely and other construction and technical issues I am not familiar with.

The Legislative Building is second only to the Palace of Justice (also built by Dakay Construction) beside it that caters to many taxpayers and houses the phalanx of the Engineering Department.

But the fact remains that the investigating committee (Committee on Infrastructure) is open to Mr. Dakay and his representative to answer, refute and defend. The contract, a public document, is also free for anyone's scrutiny. Nothing has been concluded yet.

Technical issues are seldom watered down by the legalese of lawyers or clouded by the journalistic lingo of misinformed commentators. It is resolved by the exact science of mathematics and engineering.

Shooting Straight has been justified in its opinion in many of its articles involving public interest. This very issue may be one rare occasion where Mr. Avila has to pause and load his gattling pen with the right factual ammunition.

I too am duty bound to remind myself that the construction is not a miscarriage contrary to the opinion that its alleged defects are birth pangs. We have to hear the parties.

Thank you for hearing us. Congratulations on your Press Freedom Week celebration.

Vic A. Maambong
Board Member
Province of Cebu